What's In a Name?
by sball6
Summary: Abby Winters moves back to Tree Hill, but now she has secrets. Story complete, bad summary, please read and review.
1. Chapter 1

What's In a Name?

Disclaimer: Do NOT own any OTH characters, but I do own Abby/Jamie and whoever else doesn't appear in the show. Lucas never went to Charleston, Haley never left and hasn't met Chris, Jake and Jenny left but Jake will be back because he wants to go out with Peyton, Brooke is going out with Felix. Mouth and Anna are also in the story. This story is set during season 1. I know it is season 3, but I started this during season 1.

Abby—longer light brown hair with blonde highlights, brown eyes, 5'7", 175 lbs

**Chapter 1**

**Independence, Wisconsin**

Abigail Winters sat on her bed listening to the new Jeremy Camp CD, Stay, which she had borrowed from her best friend, Andrea. She liked her life, but every time she was alone in her room listening to music her mind began to wander. And this time was no different, especially when she got to track eight, "Breaking My Fall". Every time she heard this song, she would start thinking about what had happened to her in the short sixteen years of her existence and think about how one person could help her. So far, her mom had died six years ago, which made her dad want to escape the pain. So they moved to Wisconsin. Then her father killed himself one year later. Everyone told her that it was his time to go, but she knew that he died from depression and she figured that it was her fault because she couldn't help him forget about mom. They never found a will, so Abby was adopted by some friends of her fathers. Dana and John were nice people who she loved dearly, but tragedy struck again. Even though she liked John, she was always scared of him. He liked to drink and he had a pretty short temper. She never knew how short it was until after Dana passed away. She hated walking downstairs and seeing him drinking because she knew what would come next. Whenever he came into the room, instead of dealing with him, Abby would drift off to a time when her mom and dad were alive, when her best friends were always there for her, and when she could play softball. Abby was interrupted from her thoughts by the sound of the front door slamming.

"ABIGAIL!" John's voice shouted. She knew that if she didn't answer, it would be worse than if she did.

"Coming, I'll be right there" she yelled back. As she headed downstairs Abby noticed a lot of boxes. "What's going on? What's with all the boxes?"

"We are moving."

"WHAT, we can't move my life is here! My friends, my school, everything is here!" After she finished her little rant, she thought she had pushed him too far. But to her surprise he ignored it. Maybe he is changing she thought.

"We are moving because I got a good job that pays quite a bit."

"But you have a good job here and you have friends here and Andrea. I can't lose Andrea, it isn't fair. I have finally gotten settled here and everything is…" All of a sudden a hand slaps her across the face. She knew she was wrong.

"SHUT UP! I don't care right now. This job is so much better and we will have a huge house and you can buy anything you want. Here, take this."

By this time, her face felt like it was burning from the slap, but she couldn't show him she was hurting because that would just make him happy. She took the envelope that he handed her and looked inside. She opened it up and pulled out a driver's license for North Carolina. There was only one problem. The name on the license wasn't her name.

"What is this?"

"That is your new name. I want to start over, with everything. We are now going to be a family. But you have to promise me that you won't tell anyone."

"Where are we moving to?"

"It doesn't really matter where we are going, but we are moving to North Carolina."

"Where are we going in North Carolina? Please tell me where we are going." Abby knew she should quit begging because she didn't know how much he had had to drink.

"I guess you will find out when we get there. Now go pack. We leave in two days."

Abby was so surprised to hear that they were leaving so soon. She needed to go tell Andrea, so she ran out of the house and straight to Andrea's.

**Tree Hill, North Carolina**

"Luke, who is this?" Nathan said pointing at a picture with Haley, Lucas, and some other girl.

"That is a girl that lived next door to me until fourth grade. She was my best friend."

"What about Haley?"

"Sorry, I guess I should have said Haley's and my best friend. We were the troublesome three; well that is what our parents called us. I haven't heard from her in so long. I don't even know where she moved to." Lucas said looking at the picture sadly.

"Oh, well, come on Luke, let's go to the river court and shoot around. Haley **and **Anna are going to be there." Nathan gave Lucas the look.

"Fine, let's go. Oh, and Nate, I don't like Anna in that way. We are just friends."

"Whatever you say Luke" Nathan didn't sound convinced.

**--At the River court--**

"Hey Hales, hey Anna. What's up?" Nathan asked.

"Nothing much babe, we just got here. What about you? What is wrong with Luke?" Haley asked not taking her eyes off Lucas.

"Oh, I pointed out a picture from when you were little. I guess I hit a nerve or something." Haley shot Nathan a quick glare.

"Don't worry; I didn't do it on purpose this time. I was sincerely curious. I had never seen the picture before." Nathan said as he saw Haley's look.

"What was it a picture of?" Anna piped in feeling left out of the conversation.

"It was a picture of you, Lucas, and some other girl sitting on the counter of Karen's café." He said pointing at Haley.

"That was the last picture we took with her."

"Who is she and what happened? Did she die?" Anna asked interrupting Haley.

"No, she didn't die." Haley said remembering the day.

**Flashback**

"Thanks for the cake Karen. It was delicious." A little girl with light brown hair and brown eyes said. "It reminds me of the cake that my momma used to make me." A single tear rolled down her eye. Not just because her mother had died two weeks earlier, but because her father was making her move. He wanted to get away from the horror that haunted him every time he opened the front door. She didn't understand why he wanted to take her away from everything that reminded her of her mother. Everything that she knew was here, but she knew she had to leave. "Can you take a couple pictures of Lucas, Haley, and I sitting on the counter? Please, I know you don't like us sitting up there, but it will be a cool picture." Karen knew that she was leaving in the morning, but she didn't tell Lucas or Haley because she had promised the little girl.

"I guess I can let you guys sit up there one time while I take the pictures." Once the three kids got situated Karen took three pictures (one for each of them).

"Don't worry guys, I will send you these pictures after I get them developed."

"Why don't you just bring them over to our houses?" Haley questioned. She had always been the smartest of the three

"I won't be here when they get developed actually. Daddy and I are leaving tomorrow morning for Wisconsin or something." Tears almost started to fall, but she couldn't let them see that she was crying.

"WHAT!" Lucas and Haley said at the same time.

"Why are you leaving?" Haley asked with tears starting to come down her cheeks. They had been best friends since before they could remember.

"I don't know. Daddy said something about not being able to get Momma out of his head. He said that he needs closure and being here isn't getting him any."

"When did you find out?" Lucas was on the verge of tears, but he was too upset to let them out

"He told me last week." Before she could finish Lucas took off. "Luke wait up!" She ran after him. "Luke, don't walk away from me."

"Abby, I'm not walking…I'm running."

"LUCAS! Please stop. What's wrong?"

"WHAT'S WRONG! Abby…you are leaving tomorrow and you didn't even tell us. I'm surprised that you didn't just write a letter from your new home. I thought we were your friends."

"You are my friends. You are my best friends and I don't want to leave, but I have to."

"If we were your best friends then you would have told us earlier."

"Lucas, I couldn't. I didn't know how."

"Why don't you just leave then? You must not want to be here. I hate you for not telling me sooner. Go start your life over.

"Luke, that's not fair."

"Well, life's not fair I guess."

"You're such a jerk. I'm leaving tomorrow and you are getting all mad at me. If that is the way you want to be, fine, I'm going home. Good bye Lucas, have a nice life."

**End Flashback**

"Hales, are you okay?"

"Yeah Anna, I'm fine. I was just thinking back. I remember that day pretty well. Luke was mad at Abby for not telling us. I went over to her house that night and all she could do was cry and say that she was sorry for not telling us sooner. She was also mad at Lucas. She sent me the pictures a week later. So, I gave one to Lucas. I didn't know he still had the picture. He was still mad when I gave him the picture. I figured he had thrown it away by now."

"Can we just drop the subject? I don't want to think about it right now. Damn, it was like six years ago. She left and she hasn't written since. Let's drop it now." Lucas walked away, but Anna followed.

"Lucas hold on. Do you want to talk about this? I know there is something wrong. You can talk to me. I promise I won't tell anyone." Lucas stopped walking and sat down on a bench. He looked like he was about to cry.

"I wasn't mad at her. I was mad at myself that I had let her go; especially without telling her I loved her. She was the first girl that I ever liked like that. It was weird because I didn't think that I liked girls like that at that time, I mean besides just being friends with them. But I just couldn't stop thinking about her." He paused for a moment and saw a surprised look on Anna's face. "I have never told anyone that, not even Haley. I just feel like there has been a whole in my heart since then. Even when I was going out with Brooke, I was happy, but I still felt like I couldn't give her all of my heart."

"What about Peyton? I mean you cheated on Brooke with Peyton, so did you feel better with her?"

"Not really. I mean, I guess, I don't know. I don't think that would have made a difference either. I thought Peyton might have been more like Abby, but she wasn't."

"Is that the reason why you didn't want to go any further with me? You didn't want to hurt me like you hurt Brooke and Peyton and possibly Abby."

"I couldn't do that to you. I liked Brooke and Peyton and I will admit that I screwed up, but every time I looked at them I tried to picture what Abby looks like. I have never told anyone about Abby, not my mom, not even Haley. Please don't tell anyone what I said."

"Lucas, you are keeping a secret for me, so I will keep this secret for you."

"Thanks Anna, you're the best." Lucas gives Anna a hug. "Let's go back and shoot some hoops now." Lucas and Anna walk back to Nathan and Haley and nothing was said between the teens.

**Independence**

"Andrea, I really don't want to leave you. I have actually gotten used to this place. I actually like it here. This sucks so much; I can't believe John is making me move now. I only have two years of high school left and I'm not very good at making friends." Abby was ranting about moving to her best friend Andrea. Andrea couldn't believe that he was making her leave either.

"Did he tell you why you were moving?"

"He said that he got a better job in North Carolina or something. He said that we would have a big house and I could buy anything that I wanted because we would have money."

"I think that is a stupid reason. He has a good job here. Does he know that you used to live in North Carolina? I mean you lived there until your mom died right?"

"Yea, we did. It was really nice there. I haven't kept in touch with anyone though. I wrote letters to them, but they never wrote me back. So, I guess it is just as well because I will probably never see them anyway." A phone rings in the background and Andrea's mom yells up the stairs.

"Abby, your father's on the phone. He says that you need to come back and finish packing because you are leaving pretty early tomorrow."

"Tell him I'll leave in ten minutes because I am done packing. Thank you. Great, I hope he hasn't been drinking, I don't want to have to deal with him tonight."

"You will call me when you get there right?"

"Of course I will call you. I don't understand why I had to change my name, I mean, how stupid is that?"

"That is kind of bizarre I think. Well, you better get going or it will be a long drive to North Carolina tomorrow."

"Yea, I suppose. I am going to miss you so much Andrea. You have been a great friend for the past three years. I'm glad we had a locker next to each other. I'll give you my address when I call and you have my e-mail address and cell phone number." They are both on the verge of tears so they stop talking and just give each other a big hug. They promise that they will keep in close touch so Abby leaves. As she walks back home (because she only lived a few blocks from Andrea) she hears a car coming up behind her. The car pulls up next to her and she sees that it is John.

"Get in the car, NOW!" She heard the voice that she always dreaded to hear so she got in without saying a word. When they got in the house Abby went straight to her room and to her discontent John was right behind her. "The next time I tell you to come home you had better come home right away! You do not tell someone else's mother to tell me that you will leave ten minutes later! Do you know how bad of a father that makes me look?" She didn't mean to say it, but it just slipped out.

"YOU ARE NOT MY FATHER! You will never be my father!" After she said that she knew she shouldn't have. She didn't even have time to react to what was coming next. All of a sudden a hand slapped her across the face, hard.

"You do not talk to me like that you ungrateful slut! I have put a roof over your head for the past three years! I have put food on the table and nice clothes on your back and this is how you repay me! Without me you would probably be in some foster home or orphanage trying to remember what your parents were like. I don't know how they put up with you for so long. You are a little slut!" All while he was saying this, the punches were flying. He didn't even take the time to catch his own breath. Finally after about ten minutes, he finally got too tired to punch anymore so he threw her across the room. Her back hit the desk and she fell to the ground. She couldn't breathe and she felt this sharp stinging pain, but she couldn't do anything about it. When she went to the bathroom to clean up before she got in bed she noticed how bad it was. John had never hit her so much or so hard before, it had always been just a couple of slaps, but not this time. She finished cleaning up and went to bed. Abby couldn't fall asleep because her side and back hurt so much. She also didn't want to wake up late for the trip to hell.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

"Jamie, come on, get out of the car. We are here and I want you to get settled before you go to school tomorrow." He hadn't said anything about the night before. He acted as if nothing had ever happened. It was a long drive down, but she had fallen asleep almost right away. She had been sleeping when they got into town so she hadn't seen the name of the city and right now she was too tired and too mad to even care. She got out of the car and headed inside. She went straight to her room which already had a lot of stuff that she had never seen before. She didn't care. All she wanted was too go to bed and forget everything that happened to her. Right before she fell asleep she promised herself that she would call Andrea in the morning.

**The next morning**

"Jamie, time to get up, you don't want to be late for school." She heard John's voice echo through the house. She had no idea how hard it was going to be for her to get used to this whole name thing. As soon as she walked in the bathroom she noticed how bruised her face still was. So, she took a shower and put on some make-up to cover her face. After she got dressed she noticed some bruises that were forming on her arms, so she pulled her favorite sweatshirt over her head. She looked in the mirror for what seemed like eternity. She had never been very confident in herself. She was 5'7" with light brown hair and brown eyes, but that wasn't what bothered her. It was always hard for her to start over at a new school, especially because she was pretty shy. She hated people looking at her. She knew she wasn't overly fat, but at 175 pounds she felt like she was. No matter how many times Andrea had told her she wasn't fat, she wouldn't believe her. Maybe it was because Andrea was gorgeous and pretty skinny. And now, she was going to have to start all over and make new friends. She didn't know how she could do it. Finally, she walked out the front door and started for school. She wasn't exactly sure where it was, but she saw a couple signs pointing her in the right direction. She hadn't seen the town when they drove in the night before, but now she got a pretty good look at it. She looked around and felt a sense of familiarity. She still didn't know the name of the town, but she decided to call Andrea anyway. As she was dialing the number she turned around and walked straight into someone. She fell to the ground, which did not help her ass or back, but at least she didn't try catching herself and hurting her arm again. When she looked up, a guy was standing over her holding a basketball trying not to laugh.

"Maybe you should pay more attention to where you are going or you might end up in the river." The guy said helping her up. All she wanted to do was wipe the smirk off his face, but she couldn't help but feel embarrassed.

"Yea, I'm sorry."

"That's all right. You're new here aren't you?" He asked as he helped her up.

"Um, yea" she didn't really know what to say.

"My name's Lucas, Lucas Scott." He said hoping to get her to say something more.

"My name's Ab…Jamie Bausch"

"Well Jamie, it is…" Lucas started, but trailed off.

"What?" Jamie said looking confused.

"You just remind me of someone. It is kind of weird. I haven't seen her for so long, but I guess I could just picture her. And I picture her kind of like you."

"Oh, well we have never met so I guess it couldn't be me right?"

"No, I guess it couldn't. Well, I better get going or I am going to be in quite a bit of trouble with my brother. Hopefully I'll see you around Jamie Bausch."

"Bye." She said before she realized that Andrea's voice mail had picked up. "Hey Andi, it's me. I just woke up like 30 minutes ago and I have already made a complete fool of myself. I will explain it when I talk to you so call me back. I'll talk to you later. Oh, by the way, this place is going to blow!"

**Tree Hill High School**

"Hey guys" Lucas said to the gang surrounding his locker.

"Hey Luke, where were you this morning? I thought that we were gonna shoot around?" Nate said looking annoyed at his older brother.

"Yea, sorry about that, I was running a little late because my mom made me help her in the café and then I literally ran into someone when I was running over."

"Who did you run into?" Brooke asked.

"Her name is Jamie and she is new in town."

"Is she hot?" Tim had just joined the conversation and without waiting for a response he started a new conversation. "Who is that girl? What a nerd! I mean can we say loser." Lucas couldn't stand listening to conversations involving Tim so ignoring him, he left. On the other side of the hall, Jamie overheard what Tim had said. She knew that he was talking about her, but she was not going to let what that guy said get to her. She finally found her way to the principal's office and made herself comfortable.

"Jamie Bausch." She heard the principal yell. She walked in and sat down in front of Mr. Turner who had some papers in his hand. "Here is your class schedule, map of the school, and of course your locker information. I think that you are really going to like it here Miss Bausch. This is a really great school with a terrific and welcoming student body."

"Yea right," Jamie thought. After what I just heard in the hall I feel really welcome.

"What was that Miss Bausch?" She thought she had said it to herself, but I guess she was wrong.

"I said…yea you are probably right."

"Well, you better get to your class. It is English Honors with Mr. Brandsman, room 217. If you don't like your schedule or if it is too difficult then come and see me and we will get you in a different class. I don't think that you will have a problem because of the transcript we received from your last school."

"Thank you, I don't think that this will be too much of a problem for me." She said as she got up to leave. She walked out the door and started to head for her class. She hated to be late for class because everyone looked at her when she walked in, but she knew that she couldn't skip anything because she was already behind. She finally found her classroom and walked in. As soon as she walked in the room everyone stared. She felt her face become crimson with embarrassment. Mr. Brandsman stopped class and started with an introduction. "Class, this is Jamie Bau…"

"Bausch" Jamie pronounced for him.

"Jamie Bausch. Welcome to English Honors. You can take that seat. Now, where were we?" Class seemed to drag on for what seemed forever. She didn't know why, but she couldn't stop thinking about the guy she had run into earlier that morning. Finally the bell rang and she packed up her bag and started walking out of the room. As she looked down at her schedule to find her next class she slammed into someone for the second time that day.

"Oh my gosh, I have got to start looking where I am going." Jamie said starting to sound really frustrated.

"We should probably stop meeting like this." Lucas said laughing.

"Wow, I am so sorry, again." Jamie said feeling even more embarrassed than she had that morning.

"Hey don't feel bad. I could have watched where I was going or said something to you before we hit, but I wanted to run into you again."

"Oh, I….um…I don't know what to say to that." Jamie said looking quite confused.

"Well, just say that you will let me show you around the town."

"Well, I don't know." Jamie said nervously.

"Come on, I promise that I will stay on one side of the sidewalk and we don't have to talk about anything dealing with your life or anything." Lucas said trying to convince her.

"Okay, I guess that would be nice to know where I am going in this town."

"Great, I'll see you in a couple hours then. I'll meet you by your locker at 2:30."

"Bye Lucas."

"I'll see you later Jamie Bausch."

**After school**

Jamie was putting her books in her locker when all of a sudden her locker door was practically slammed on her head. When she pulled her head out of her locker there was Tim and a bunch of other guys from the basketball team laughing. "Oh sorry, I guess I didn't see you there. How I didn't see you is beyond my comprehension, but whatever. Now, move, you are in front of my friend's locker there."

"I'm sorry; I didn't know I was in your way." Jamie said moving to the side.

"How could you NOT know that your fat ass was in the way?" Tim said with a little chuckle. Jamie couldn't take anymore, but she knew that she couldn't do any thing to this guy. So instead she tried to ignore him. She looked past him and saw Lucas standing there laughing. She slammed her locker shut and ran out right past Lucas.

"Jamie, wait up. Why are you running?" He asked catching up to her pretty easily. "Hold on" He said grabbing her arm. He felt her flinch, but he ignored it.

"WHAT, WHAT DO YOU WANT? DO YOU WANT TO MAKE FUN OF ME TOO? WELL, HERE'S YOUR CHANCE. C'MON, WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO SAY?" She yelled.

"What are you talking about? I thought I was going to show you around the town? I just saw you run out of school so I followed you. What is the matter?" He asked, noticing the tears starting to come down her cheeks.

"Don't act stupid Lucas. I saw you laughing at what that kid was saying."

"What are you talking about? I was laughing at my friend's face when she ran into her locker door. I didn't even see you until you ra…wait, who was making fun of you?" Lucas asked finally understanding what she was so upset about.

"I don't know some guy with a letterman jacket on. I didn't catch his name, but don't worry about it. It is not a big deal. I can handle it."

"Okay, if you say. So, are you ready to get this tour on the road?" Jamie was still trying to catch her breath from crying so she shook her head. "Well, let's go then." Lucas said sticking out his hand. Jamie thought about taking it, but decided not to. Lucas put his hand down and started walking not wanting to feel any more embarrassed than he already felt. As they walked around town, Jamie began to feel the same sense of familiarity she had felt this morning.

"So, why did you move to Tree Hill?" Lucas asked. He hadn't gotten her to say too much since they had started. He wanted to get to know her. He had never felt so much for a girl that he had run into only a couple of times.

"Jo…my dad got a job here…wait, did you say Tree Hill?"

"Yea, I did. So, where did you move from?"

"Wisconsin. That is why this place seems so familiar." She said the last part under her breath.

"So you moved from Wisconsin because your dad got a job here?" Jamie shook her head yes, but didn't say anything. He didn't want to push her to talk to him so they just walked in silence, except when Lucas described things around town. They walked into this little café and walked to the counter. There was a young girl taking orders at the counter and a young man sitting by watching her intently. Lucas walked over and started talking to them. "Hey Jamie, come over here." Jamie walked over and sat on the nearest stool. "Jamie Bausch this is my best friend Haley and my brother Nathan. Hales, Nate, this is Jamie Bausch she just moved here with her dad from Wisconsin. This is the girl I ran into this morning. Oh yea, Haley and Nathan are married."

"It is nice to meet you both. So, you're married? How does that work? Aren't you still in high school?" Lucas was surprised. He hadn't heard Jamie talk so much.

"Maybe I should have told you that earlier. It seems to have been the way to make you talk." Jamie looked a little embarrassed at his comment, but she let out a little chuckle.

"Well," Haley said "Nate is emancipated and I got my parents' consent and we got married."

"Oh, that is insane." Jamie wanted to know everything, but she figured she would ask Lucas later. "Shoot, what time is it?" looking at her cell phone. "I have to get home. Jo…my dad is going to kill me if I am late. Thank you for the tour Lucas. I had a great time. I think I am going to like it here. I'll see you at school tomorrow." Jamie said. She turned around and started to run to the door when she heard Lucas.

"Hey, I can give you a ride home so you aren't late. I mean, I guess that I am the reason that you would be late so it is the least I can do."

"Sure that would be great. I would really appreciate it seeing as I don't actually know where I am going." They got in his car and headed for her house. She didn't know how to get there, but she did know the address. When they got there Lucas recognized the neighborhood as Haley and Nathan's.

"Haley and Nate live right next to you. That is so weird. They are in number eleven in the white apartment complexes if you need anything. I will tell them that you live there."

"Thanks Lucas, hey do you want to come in for a little bit? Maybe just hang out for a while?"

"I thought your dad was going to kill you if you aren't on time?"

"Well, he is calling me at 5 to make sure that I am home, but he won't be home for another couple of hours. So, what do you say? Do you want to come in?" Lucas thought about it for a little while.

"Why not, I would like to know more about you."

They headed inside.

"Do you want anything to eat? I make a mean mac-n-cheese."

"Sure, if you say it is good. I had a friend who made macaroni and cheese every time I came over after playing basketball. I hope yours is just as good."

"Well, I will try to outdo your friend. So, tell me something about yourself."

"Ok, well, I was born in Tree Hill; my mom is the owner of Karen's café. I love playing basketball. I am a junior at Tree Hill. I love to read. I have a half brother, a jackass father, an awesome uncle, two screwed up relationships, a best friend who has been there for me forever and now a new friendship. That is my life in a nut shell." He went on answering all of Jamie's questions about what happened with his brother and best friend. Pretty soon she knew almost everything that had happened in the past year or so of his life. Now it was his turn to ask the questions.

"Okay, your turn to tell me something about yourself." This scared Jamie, she hadn't thought about any stories for her new life, but she figured it would just come out.

"Well, I am an only child. My dad and I moved here from Wisconsin after Dana died."

"Wait, who is Dana?"

"Oh, Dana was my mom. Sorry, I forgot. I love softball, but I can't play it anymore. I don't mind reading, but I love to watch movies. I am not a partier in any way. I hate when people go to parties and drink, but that's because my mom died from a drunk driving hit and run."

"I'm sorry; I didn't mean to bring up sad subjects."

"Don't worry, I have gotten over it. It was a couple of years ago." They kept talking about almost everything except their pasts. They didn't go to deep because Jamie always changed the subject. All of a sudden she heard the front door slam shut. She realized that they had talked for almost five hours. "Shit, that's my dad. I don't think he will be too happy that I am alone in the house with a guy. You better go out the back door." Lucas snuck out quietly as Jamie cleaned up his dishes. She turned around just in time to see the door closing as John walked in.

"How was your day Jamie?" She could tell that he had been drinking, but the name thing was still bugging her. She had also realized why he had changed her name. This is the town that she had lived in with her mom and dad. She had realized it when Lucas told her the city name. But she wanted to hear him say it.

"My day was fine John, but there is one thing that has been bugging me since this afternoon. Why did I have to change my name? Is it because this is where I grew up with my mom and dad? Why do I have to keep who I am a secret? Why don't you want me to find the people that I grew up with? To tell you the truth, I think I already found them. Do you want me to be miserable and lie to people?"

"You better watch it. I heard you talking to a guy in here before I came in. What have I told you about bringing guys into the house without my permission? I have already told you why I changed your name. I want to start over as a family and you better not be going around telling people you changed your name. You are my daughter now and I expect you to keep your past a secret. If you don't I swear you will never see Lucas or whatever the hell his name is again."

"Are you threatening to hurt Lucas if I tell anyone the truth?" He wasn't, but that sounded like a good way to get her to keep everything a secret.

"Yes I am. And you know that I keep my promises. Now go to bed."

"I have homework to…" She really needed to learn to keep her mouth shut as she sat on the chair holding her already bruised face in her hands. She walked to her room and locked her door. She didn't think that he would come in, but she still wanted to keep him out if he tried to apologize. She didn't want him to see her cry.

**Outside**

"Hey Lucas, our apartment is over here. Why are sneaking around the new neighbor's?" Nate yelled over to Lucas. They had seen him standing outside the house, but they hadn't seen him leaving.

"Oh, I'm not sneaking around; well technically I am, but…anyway, this is Jamie's house. She invited me in and then her dad came home and she didn't want to get into trouble so I snuck out the back door. We seriously spent like five hours talking. I haven't talked to anyone like that since…well, for a long time. Hey, I have to get going. I'll see you guys tomorrow. Bye." He said as he left to go call Anna. He needed to talk to her about this girl. As he got in his car he started dialing Anna's cell phone number.

"Hello," came a voice from the other end.

"Hey Anna, it is Luke. What are you up to right now? I kind of need to talk."

"Is something wrong Luke?"

"No, but I do need to talk to you about the thing we were talking about yesterday."

"Sure, I can meet you at the River court in five minutes."

"Yea, I'll be waiting for you. See you soon. Bye."

**River court**

"Thanks for meeting me Anna. This means a lot to me."

"Yea, anytime Luke, I like talking to you believe it or not. So, what is it? Have you heard from Abby?"

"No, I wish, but I did meet someone today that sort of reminds me of her. I mean it was weird. Do you remember the girl that I ran into this morning on my way to meet Nate?" Anna shook her head. "Well, I ran into her after second period and I asked her if she would like a tour of Tree Hill. I don't know why I asked her, I just felt like I wanted to get to know her. Well, after the tour of the city I took her home and we sat in her kitchen and talked for like five hours. It was amazing. I don't ever remember just sitting and talking to anyone except for Haley and Abby. The weirdest part was that she made me macaroni and cheese, which she said was her specialty. That is what Hales, Abs, and I always ate for a snack. I mean all of these little quirks that I remember Abby having Jamie has a lot of them."

"Do you think that…no, it couldn't be Abby. She would have no reason to change her name plus you knew her dad so…"

"Yea, I thought about that too, but my mom and her family were really close. They would have contacted us. But it was an amazing night Anna. I really like her already and I really don't even know that much about her. We talked for so long, but we never got into the past or into anything really personal. I'm sorry you probably don't need to hear all these things. Do you want to play a couple games of hog?"

"Do you really have to ask Luke? Oh, and I don't really mind listening to you go on and on about your newly found crush." Anna and Luke shot around for about an hour and then headed for home seeing as they still needed to do homework. When Luke walked in the house he was stopped by his mother.

"Shit mom. You scared me. Why are you just sitting there? Are you okay?" He asked noticing that she was crying.

"Yea, I'm fine. It is just the anniversary of Kelly's death. Did you know that it has been six years since she died?"

"Yea, I remember mom. It has also been six years since I have heard from Abby. I don't get it, I thought we were friends. She has never written. Not even after I wrote to her." Lucas couldn't help it; he couldn't keep his emotions in anymore. He wanted his mom to know how he felt. "Mom, why couldn't they have just stayed? We could have helped Roger 'escape his pain' or whatever he said to Abby to get her to move. I miss her so much. I haven't forgiven myself for just letting her go. I really liked her and I mean more than just my best friend. I never said good-bye to her and she left on bad terms with me." Lucas burst into tears at the thought of losing one of his best friends.

"Honey, I didn't know you felt that way about losing Abby. You never told me any of this. Does Haley know how you feel about Abby?" Lucas just shook his head no.

"I have never told anyone about this, well, until recently when I told Anna. I actually just told her yesterday and then I talked to her about it again today." Lucas and Karen just sat there crying over losing two people that they cared about so much. After about ten minutes of letting go of all his feelings he remembered his homework. "I hate to say this mom, but I should probably go do some homework. Wow, I can't believe I just said that. I'll see you tomorrow. Goodnight. I love you."

"I love you too Luke. Goodnight. Honey, I'm sorry about Abby."

"Don't be mom. It was my fault." Lucas said as he shut the door to his room. He went to sit at his desk, but got distracted by the picture that Nathan had pointed to the day before. He grabbed the picture off his dresser and went and sat by the computer. He stared at the picture and thought about the way things were before she left.

**Flashback**

"Come on Lukie don't be stubborn. It is not our fault that you fell off your bike trying to impress us and scraped your knee. You have to go tell Karen so that you won't have to get your leg cut off." Seven year-old Abby told a crying, yet stubborn Lucas.

"I am not going to tell my mom. She will get mad at me for riding out in the street without her. And I won't have to cut my leg off. Where in the world would you come up with a stupid thing like that anyway?"

"I heard it is true Luke. I saw a guy with one leg the other day. My mom had a guy come in for a check-up and she asked what happened and he said that he fell off his bike on the highway." Haley said matter-of-factly. Little did they know that it was a motorcycle and he was going over 90 mph. The trio had been playing around the café when Lucas decided that he wanted to show off his brand-new bike to his best friends. As he was riding around the street (of course there were no cars) he hit a little crack in the road and went tumbling off his bike. He scrapped up his knee enough for it to start bleeding, but nothing terrible happened. "Luke, if you don't tell your mom Abby and I will. You do want to be able to be in the NBA with Skills when you are older don't you?" Luke shook his head at Haley's comment.

"Well then Lukie let's go tell your mom together. Haley and I promise that we will hold your hand through the whole thing." So the three walked, well Lucas limped, into the café where his mom was clearing away a place for them to eat lunch. When she saw the three walk in she ran over to her little boy and a hundred questions flew from her mouth. Lucas couldn't do anything but cry so Abby took the reigns. She thought about lying to Karen, but the lies that she had thought of didn't sound like they would work (pretty much like every other lie the three had thought of in the past couple of years). "Well Karen, this is what happened. I was telling Luke that he was a baby because he still had training wheels on his bike. And then he showed us the new bike that you had gotten for him and I told him that I didn't believe he could actually ride it without you holding on. So I triple-dog dared him to ride it down the sidewalk a little ways. He told me that he wasn't supposed to, but I wouldn't listen to him. I called him a chicken and then a baby and so he got on the bike and started going. He was doing a really good job and then there was a big crack and I mean a gigantic, monster…"

"I think I get the point there Abby, continue with the story." Karen said with a little chuckle at the little girl's view of the crack.

"Sorry. Anyways, there was a humongous crack in the sidewalk and when he hit the crack, the bike toppled over and he scrapped his knee. He wanted to come in here and tell you, but I told him that he was just a big baby if he did."

"Okay, are you finished?" The little girl shook her head. "Well, I think your mom and dad have told you about daring other people to do things and then calling them names. So I am going to call your parents and have them come pick you up. I will tell them what happened so that you don't change your story. Now you just sit there. Lucas…"she said looking at the now puffy-eyed boy. "Would you like to add anything to what may have happened?" He looked at Abby who was shaking her head vigorously and shook his head no. "Okay then, I am going to go get something to clean your knee out after I call Abby's parents. You two (she said pointing at Haley and Luke) go sit over there." As soon as she left the room Lucas and Haley went over to where Abby was sitting.

"Why didn't you tell her the truth about what happened?" Luke asked.

"Well, I figured that I probably owe you one from the last time when I actually did dare you. So, are we even now?"

"Of course we are."

"Luke, she's coming hurry up sit back down." Luke and Haley ran back to their sits and sat down just as Karen came back in.

"Your parents will be her in five minutes. Now Luke, hold still, this will hurt a little, but you have to be a big boy and not yell too loud."

"Can Abby and Haley hold my hands?"

"I guess so. Are you ready?"

"No, but you are going to…Owwwwwwwwwwwwww!" Luke screamed. "I wasn't ready mom. That isn't fair." As Karen finished cleaning the scrap on Lucas' knee, Kelly and Roger Winters walked in to pick up their daughter.

**End Flashback**

Lucas started laughing remembering that day. He still had a scar from the scrap. Abby couldn't play with Lucas and Haley for a week because of that day. He remembered it was one of the longest weeks of his life. He hated not being able to hang out with both of his best friends for a week. As soon as they saw each other again they sat and played for hours on end just trying to get back the lost week. Lucas began to feel sad again wishing that he could just sit and talk with Abby and try to get back the last six years that he had been without her. Little did he know that across town there was a girl sitting on her bed remembering and wishing the same exact thing.

Jamie sat on her bed wondering if Lucas and Haley even thought about her. She wondered if she could ever have the same friendship with them as they used to have. She never could understand why they had never written back to her. She knew that when she left that Lucas was mad at her, but she didn't think that Haley would never write. She wrote to them for three years after her father had died. She couldn't even understand why they hadn't come to the funeral. All of a sudden she heard her door trying to be open. She quickly went to unlock it so the blows wouldn't be as bad as if he would have to break the door down, which he would.

"Why the hell was the door locked?" John yelled.

"I was changing and it is a habitat that I have had since I was little and…" she couldn't even finish her sentence.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

**The next day**

Jamie woke up the next morning with bruises all over. When she looked in the mirror she noticed her brand new black eye and the cut on her lip. She had hand mark-like bruises on her arms and her stomach was still hurting. It seemed that every time he hit her it got harder and longer. She tried to cover up her bruised face, but it hurt too much to even touch. She figured that she would just have to leave it and tell a lie. She knew she wasn't a good liar, but no one else knew that. So she opened up the door and started her trek to school. Before she got to far down the road she heard a car pull up beside her. She was afraid to look, but then she heard a familiar voice.

"Hey Jamie, would you like a ride to school?" Haley asked.

"Yea, if you don't mind" Jamie said. She knew that Haley James Scott was the Haley that she had been best friends with for almost 11 years. She hopped in the back of the car and they took off. The conversation was minimal, but the one question that came up was what happened to her eye. She knew that she couldn't tell them the truth because it would do nothing. She knew that John had a good job here and was already respected by people. Not many adults would believe her, because John always had good excuses for his actions. She also figured that it was her fault, so instead she lied to Haley and Nathan some more.

"I ran into my door last night. It was really dark and I, um, I thought that it was open more than it was and I smacked right into it. I am such a klutz."

"Ouch, you must have been running or something because that looks like it hurts A LOT." Nathan pointed out. He was right, well, about it hurting a lot. Jamie felt bad lying to them, but she couldn't lose another person in her life. When they got to school, Jamie got out of the car quickly, thanked them for the ride, and practically ran into school. She didn't want too many strangers asking about her eye. When she got to her locker she noticed Lucas standing next to it. There was no avoiding him. He had just seen her and she couldn't get away, even if she wanted to. The problem wasn't that she couldn't run away fast enough, she found herself not wanting to. As she walked to her locker she tried not to let him see her eye. She didn't want him to worry about her. As far as he knew she was a klutz, she did run into him twice in one day. As soon as she got to her locker she looked at him and saw the confused look in his eyes it was followed shortly by the angry and protective look.

"Jamie, what happened to your eye? Did you get into a fight with your dad after I left? Did you get into a fight with some kid? If you did just tell me and I…" Lucas was furious, but Jamie wouldn't let him finish his sentence.

"I'm fine. I just ran into the bathroom door this morning and it…"

"I thought it was your bedroom door last night?" Nathan said walking up behind Lucas. Haley, Lucas, and Nathan just looked at her confused. She thought back to what she had told Nathan and Haley hoping that she hadn't just lied herself into too much of a hole.

"I think that I just said my door. And it was my own bathroom and it was actually this morning at like 1:30 or something. So technically it was the morning, but most people consider it to be night." Jamie said hoping not to sound as nervous about lying as she felt.

"Oh, I guess that makes plenty of sense now." Lucas said. "I'm sorry I jumped to the conclusion that your father hit you. You wouldn't lie about something that important."

"Of course not, why would I lie about something like that?"

"Okay, good. Well, we better get to class. You have class with me these next two classes. Let's go Jamers."

"Wait, first, we have second period together? You weren't there yesterday. And second, what did you call me?"

"Yes I have second period with you. I wasn't in class yesterday because I had a doctor's appointment. And I called you Jamers. Is that bad, because if it is or if you don't like me calling you that then I will stop."

"No, it is fine. I just, well, no one has ever really given me a nickname. I kind of like it. But, to be fair, maybe I should give you a nickname. How about Lukie?" She said, forgetting that she used to call him that when she was making fun of him. She saw a little glisten in his eyes, but ignored it when she heard him say something.

"Will you go out with me tonight?" He asked catching her off guard. She didn't know how to answer that. She wanted to scream and yell and just run over and give him a big hug, because she had waited and dreamed of Lucas asking her out for over six years.

"Um, sure, I would love to go out with you tonight."

"Okay." Lucas said with a huge smile coming to his face. He hadn't felt so happy since Abby. "Oh, wait, what about your dad? Won't he be home?"

"My dad won't be coming home tonight. He went out of town on a business trip, but he is calling at five."

"So, I could come pick you up around 5:30 or so?"

"5:30 would be great. I will see you then." She said as she walked into her classroom. "Well, I guess I will see you before then. I forgot we have the next two hours together." They both started laughing and then stopped abruptly when the teacher came in.

"Psst…do we have lunch together?" Lucas asked when the teacher turned her back to write on the board.

"I have second lunch, but I wouldn't know because I skipped it yesterday to talk to Mrs. Ashby."

"We do have the same lunch. That is awesome. You can meet the rest of the group. I think that you are going to love them."

**Lunchtime**

As Jamie went through the line she couldn't help but notice that Lucas hadn't seen her yet. Haley and Nathan were both talking to each other and Lucas had his back to her. She couldn't concentrate during math because her mind kept wandering to Lucas. She recognized one of the girls sitting at the table. She had her in fifth period. She was gorgeous, popular, and she heard that she was student council president. As she stood in line she just couldn't help but stare at Lucas. She didn't even realize she did, until she saw the girl point at her and Lucas turned around. They made eye contact and he walked over to her.

"Hey, you're just in time. Everyone just got here. Come sit next to me and I will introduce you to the group." They walked over to the table. Lucas sat down next to a girl she didn't know and she took a seat between Lucas and Nathan. "Hey guys, this is Jamie. She just moved here from Wisconsin. Jamie this is the group. You already know Nathan and Haley. That is Peyton, if you have any art classes you will probably see her."

"Nice to meet you Jamie. I do like art, but I am not in any classes this semester Luke."

"Nice to meet you too." Jamie replied.

"Those two are Brooke and Felix. Brooke is captain of the cheerleading squad and student council president and Felix…well, they are going out." Lucas said with a little chuckle. Brooke and Felix both laughed and said hi. "This is Mouth. He is one of the brains at the school, but also part of the sports announcers. And this is Anna. Anna is Felix's sister and a good friend."

"Nice to meet all of you. This is so weird."

"What is weird?" Brooke asked.

"Well, meeting so many people. I have never been good at meeting people. I am sort of shy when it comes to it." The conversation kept on going at a minimal pace with everyone asking Jamie questions. Then the conversation ended quite abruptly when Tim walked over to the table. When Jamie saw him she didn't even look up. She recognized him as the guy that was making fun of her the day before.

"Hey Nate, guys." He said nodding to everyone else at the table. He acted like he didn't even see Jamie. Lucas and the rest noticed, but Brooke was the one to speak up. She couldn't stand how rude Tim was, not to mention how dirty he could be.

"Hey Tim, if you didn't notice we have a new friend here. Why don't you introduce yourself to her?" Tim finally noticed Jamie.

"Oh, I'm sorry. How could I not notice you? You are always in my way when I need to talk to friends. Why don't you move your fat ass so that I can sit down?" Jamie started to get up when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She kind of cringed in pain, but she tried to pull herself together.

"What did you just say to her Tim? You wouldn't happen to be the one that was making fun of her yesterday were you?" Lucas looked about ready to punch Tim right in the face, but Jamie didn't want anyone to get into a fight because of her. So she turned to Lucas.

"Don't worry about it, remember what I said yesterday. I can deal with it. Let's just go. The bell is going to ring in a couple minutes anyway. Walk me to class." She took Lucas' hand and walked him into the school. She could hear Brooke and Haley telling Tim off. She didn't know if she heard others, but Brooke and Haley were the main two. She was really happy that people she barely even knew (except that she knew Haley when they were little, but people change) were sticking up for her. She was also weirdly happy that Lucas was sticking up for her. Lucas finally broke the silence between them.

"Was Tim the one that was talking shit about you yesterday? Because if he was I swear that I will…" Jamie cut him off.

"You will beat him up during school, get suspended for fighting and Tim will not stop bugging me. I know kids like Tim. It doesn't matter what happens to them. They will always be jerks to people that they don't like or that they think are losers.

"I don't care if I get suspended. He has no right to talk to you like that. And someone should teach him a lesson. And I am the person to do that."

"Lucas, you don't know how much that means to me. But I don't want you to get suspended because of me. It won't look good on your transcript and they don't put what the reason for the fight is."

"How could you let someone talk to you like that?" Lucas stopped yelling and asked.

"I…I don't know. Most of it is true anyway. I am learning to live with the truth."

"Who told you that?"

"Lucas, I'm not stupid. I own mirrors. I see what I look like. I see what other people see."

"No you don't, you don't see what I see."

"Well, what do you see?"

"I see a beautiful girl. I see an intelligent human being who deserves more than she thinks she does. I see someone who puts up with too much shit from people who don't know her. I see a person that takes herself for granted." Jamie didn't know what to say. She heard everything that Lucas had said, but three words kept ringing in her ear.

"Did you say I was…?"

"Yea, I did. Jamie, ever since I ran into you, you are all I think about. This has been a hard week for me. And you have been an amazing distraction from everything. For once in like six years I have finally been able to keep my mind off of something from my past. Why do you think that I asked you out? It wasn't just for the hell of it. I really want to get to know you Jamie Bausch." The bell rings pulling them out of the world that they were drifting to. "Well, I will see you around 5:30 at your house. I'll see you later Jamie."

"I'll see you at 5:30. Should I dress up or is this fine?"

"Dress up a little. It is going to be a nice little date."

"Okay, I will see you later Lucas." With that they both walked to class happy. Jamie couldn't believe that she had a date that night. She had never been on a date before. She didn't know what she was doing. She started to get nervous, but reminded herself to call Andrea for help. As she sat down in a seat for her next class she noticed Brooke walking in.

"Hey Jamie. You have World History too. How fun is this class going to be! Sorry I didn't notice you yesterday. I was kind of in a bad mood because my parents are being stupid, but enough about me. On behalf of the entire student council, welcome to Tree Hill High." Brooke exclaimed. Jamie could tell why she was the captain of the cheerleading squad. She always seemed so peppy.

"Yea, I do. I hope it isn't too hard. I'm not much of a history fan. And I can understand if you didn't notice me. I tend to blend in."

"So, I'm sorry for what Tim said earlier at lunch. He can be such a dick sometimes. I don't think his brain filters what his mouth says. He just lets words come out. But anyway, I hear that you and Lucas have a date tonight. Lucas is a great guy. I'm glad I became friends with him."

"I guess word travels fast here. And, yea, he seems really nice." Jamie was getting more nervous by the second. She had no idea what she was going to wear. Brooke noticed the tension in Jamie's face.

"Don't be nervous about it. It will be so much fun. Do you know where he is taking you?" Jamie shook her head no. "Did you ask if you should dress up?" Jamie shook her head yes. "Would you like some help getting ready tonight? You seem really nervous about this."

"You would help me? I would love that."

"Great…it is a date for us then. Do you mind if I come over after school. I don't have too much to do, but maybe around 3:30 or so."

"That sounds good. He is picking me up around 5:30."

"Perfect…two hours will be plenty of time. I don't think that it will take to much work anyway. We will just have to do something with your hair." After a couple more hours of class, the bell rang for school to get let out. As she started for her locker Haley walked up.

"Would you like a ride home? I get the car because Nathan and Lucas are working out and Luke said that he would give Nate a ride home. So, what do you say? Would you want to hang out or something?"

"Yea, um, Brooke is coming over around 3:30 to help me get ready for tonight. Lucas asked me out. You are more than welcome to come over. It would be nice to get to know you guys better."

"That is what I heard. I would love to come over. C'mon, let's get going. This is going to be fun. I always wanted to know what the inside of that house looked like. It seemed like it was for sale for a really long time." With that Haley and Jamie walked out to Haley's car and drove back to Jamie's house.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

They hung out until Brooke, Peyton, and Anna got there around 3:30 and the transformation began. Brooke had called and asked if it was okay if she brought Peyton and Anna. As Brooke had said it wasn't too hard to get ready. Brooke made her take a shower so that she could do her hair, but Jamie wasn't complaining. She needed those ten minutes to calm down and just think about what she was doing. When she got out of the shower Brooke helped her pick out what she was going to wear. Brooke picked out a little white silk shirt which looked like a short dress and black pants with black high heels. Jamie wasn't too thrilled with the heels, but at least she didn't have to wear a dress. Haley helped by doing Jamie's hair while Brooke put some make-up on her; Peyton and Anna were downstairs watching TV. They wanted to watch, but Brooke didn't want too many people in the room. When they were done Brooke and Haley went downstairs, they still had 15 minutes until Lucas was going to be there.

"Introducing, the beautiful and brilliant Jamie Bausch" Brooke said as soon as she was down the stairs. "C-mon down Jamie, Peyton and Anna want to see the final outcome." Brooke had tried her best to cover up the black eye, but every time she touched it she felt Jamie flinch. It looked a lot better than it had that morning, but you could still tell that something had happened. She hadn't asked what happened, but she knew that Haley knew so she figured she would ask her. She was taken out of her own little world when she heard Jamie walk down the stairs. She thought that she looked beautiful. The shirt and pants did wonders for her figure.

"Wow, you look amazing Jamie. Lucas is going to love it." Peyton said with a smile. Jamie figured out why Lucas had liked Brooke and Peyton, but she didn't know what had exactly happened between them. She figured that he would tell her eventually.

"You do look great Jamie." Anna added. All of a sudden the phone rang. Jamie ran to pick it up. She motioned for the girls to keep the noise to a minimum.

"Hello, this is Jamie." She said hoping not to sound too excited about the date she was getting ready for.

"Hello Jamie. I'm just making sure that you are home right now. You aren't going to be leaving the house tonight are you?" He didn't sound angry, but she knew that he was not too happy about not being home.

"No, but I was wondering if you wouldn't mind if I have some friends over tonight. I met some people at school and we have been hanging out and I was wondering if you wouldn't mind if they stayed over tonight. I don't really feel comfortable staying here by myself."

"Yea, I guess. I will be busy tonight so I won't be calling back. I will see you tomorrow night when I come home. I think I want to meet these friends of yours."

"Don't worry, you will meet them. I will see you tomorrow. Bye." She hung the phone up and turned towards the girls. They were just sitting there talking. "So, did you guys have any plans tonight? I mean, if you do, that's cool, but I was wondering if maybe you wanted to stay here tonight…"

"You don't want to stay here by yourself? No parents here and…"

"Brooke…don't get any ideas for a party. We don't want to be a burden. I didn't have any plans and it would be nice to hear about your date tonight. What time do you want me to come back?"

"Well, you wouldn't have to leave. You can stay here; my dad won't be back tonight. There is plenty of food in the fridge. You can help yourself. It would just make me feel a lot safer if there was someone here."

"Of course we will stay over tonight. We do have to go get all the supplies for a sleepover. This is going to be a great night when you come back from your date. And don't worry there will be no guys over here. We don't want you to get in trouble." Brooke said. She was excited about the upcoming sleepover. All of a sudden there was a knock on the door.

"Wow, he is here already. How do I look?" Jamie asked starting to get nervous all over again.

"You look awesome Jamie. Believe me Lucas is going to love it." Haley said matter-of-factly. The other girls nodded in agreement. All the girls went into the living room waiting for Jamie to walk in with Lucas. They wanted to see his face, but decided that it might be a little weird if they stood around the door.

**At the door**

Jamie opened the door and found Lucas standing there holding a bouquet of white lilies. He looked really nice in the khakis and polo shirt that he was wearing. She still couldn't believe that this was the same boy that she used to tease when they were younger.

"Hey Lucas you look really good." Jamie said.

"Hi Jamers, I was about to say the same thing about you. You look absolutely gorgeous." He couldn't help but stare at her. He could still see the bruise on her face, which wasn't as bad as it was that morning, but she still looked gorgeous. He couldn't take his eyes off of her.

"Maybe I should put those in some water before we go." She said pointing at the lilies in his hand. Lucas just shook his head. "Come on in." She let him walk in and then headed for the kitchen. He stopped in the living room to see Brooke, Peyton, Anna, and Haley just sitting there talking.

"Well, I see that I should be thanking you Brooke. Jamie looks amazing! I know you didn't have too much to do, but thanks." Brooke just smiled at him.

"Okay guys, here is the key to the house. I have one so if you want to lock the doors I will have a key. Help yourself to whatever we have in the house, but if I were you I would stay away from the alcohol. My dad will know if any is missing. I'll be back later."

"Have fun!" came the response from all the girls. They were excited for both Lucas and Jamie. Peyton and Brooke were happy that Lucas was turning into his old self.

"I think that Jamie is going to be good for Lucas. I think that she will help him be the guy he was before we got a hold of him." Brooke said looking at Peyton.

"Well, let's go get the fixings for a sleepover. Did anyone check the freezer for ice cream?" Haley said getting excited about the sleepover. All the girls went to check for ice cream and found an entire freezer full of ice cream. If they named it, it was in the freezer. So they went to get everything that Jamie didn't have.

**Outside**

Jamie and Lucas walked over to his car. It wasn't as nice a car as he would have liked, but it worked. At least he had a mode of transportation. He walked over to the passenger side door and opened it, letting Jamie in. He closed the door and walked over to his side. She reached across and opened the door for him. He smiled when he saw her reach over, but didn't argue with her.

"I think that it is right when someone opens the door for you." She said with a smile.

"Have I told you how beautiful you look tonight because you look amazing!" Jamie still didn't know what to say so she just smiled. "I was so nervous about tonight. I had never felt this nervous when I was going out with Brooke and Peyton. It is kind of bizarre."

"You were nervous. I almost had a meltdown earlier. I couldn't concentrate on anything during school today, especially after Brooke said she would help me out. And yes…you did tell me you thought I looked beautiful." Jamie said blushing a little. "So, where are we going on this date?"

"Well, first I thought that I would take you down to the pier to this quaint little restaurant. I have never actually been there, but Brooke and Felix recommend it. They said it wasn't too pricy. And then maybe just go for a little walk down by the beach. And then end the night at my mom's café with a little hot chocolate and dessert."

"That sounds great. I am now very excited and getting less and less nervous." They drove to the restaurant. They walked inside, sat down, ordered, and talked about everything except the forbidden past. When they were finished eating they paid and headed to the beach. As they walked down the shore Jamie kept wondering what had happened between Lucas, Peyton, and Brooke. So she figured she would ask.

"Hey Luke, I know this isn't really any of my business, but I have a question for you."

"Okay, um, if I don't like the question can I pass?"

"Sure, don't feel like you have to answer it. Okay, so I know you said you went out with Brooke and Peyton, but what happened between you guys?"

"Oh, it all started when I was asked to join the basketball team. Peyton and Nathan were going out at the time and I liked Peyton. After I joined the basketball team, Brooke started talking to me and then we sort of started going out. I still really liked Peyton, but Brooke also showed me how to have a good time. Well, one day Peyton and I had to go identify this body because we thought it was her fathers. When we found out it wasn't we almost went a little too far. We stopped, but I had still cheated. We tried to forget about it, but I couldn't bury my feelings. We were going to tell Brooke, but then I got in an accident and she found out a couple of days after I got out of the hospital. And then I kind of went to a bar and made out with Jake's ex-girlfriend slash mother of his daughter Jenny. Oh, Jake is a friend from the basketball team. Well, Peyton and Brooke got pretty pissed about that too. It took me a long time to gain their trust back, but now we are friends. I have to change, I don't like the person I became. Well, I liked parts of that person, but for the most part it wasn't very good."

"Oh, I see. From what I can tell Luke you are doing a pretty good job becoming a good person again. Brooke and Peyton seem to have forgiven you for everything."

"I'm guessing now you think that I am a male slut. I would understand if you didn't' want to go out with me again."

"Okay, enough with the pity party. Luke that was a really shitty thing that you pulled with Brooke and Peyton, but I really like you and I believe that you have changed. I don't think that you are that same person. I am giving you a chance if you want me too or not. Everyone deserves another chance." They had finally arrived back at the car, so they got in and drove to the café. Jamie hoped that Karen didn't recognize her. Her dad always told her how much she reminded him of her mother. When they reached the cafe, Karen walked over and gave her son a hug.

"Mom, I would like you to meet Jamie. Jamie, this is my mom."

"It is nice to meet you Mrs…"

"Karen, please call me Karen. It is nice to meet you Jamie."

"This place is so amazing. And I don't just mean the city. Your café is gorgeous Karen."

"You haven't even seen the best part of this place. Haley and I built it like five years ago. Come on, it is on the roof." They walked up to the roof. When they got there Lucas turned on the lights. Jamie had never seen anything like it.

"Wow, this is awesome. Why did you guys build it?"

"We built it to have a place where we could just go and talk. A place that we could hang out in and not have to worry about anything. It was actually an idea from a friend of ours, but she never got to help us build it."

"Luke, you always bring something or someone up from your past. What is it? Who is this friend of yours that you always seem so sad when you bring up him/her?" Jamie knew who he was talking about, but she wanted to hear him say it. Plus she didn't want him to get too suspicious.

"One of my mom's friends from high school had a daughter the same age as us. Her mom had gotten married right out of high school and while her and her husband went to technical school, my mom babysat their daughter. So, we grew up together. It was about two years later that our moms decided they needed to find someone else to baby-sit us while they worked. So they found Haley's mother, who had raised five kids. So that is how our parents became friends with Haley's parents and how Abby and I became friends with Haley. Abby, Haley, and I always played together, even after we stopped going over to the James' house to be babysat. I loved being around those two. We did so many things together. Well, Abby's mother died when we were in fourth grade and her dad made her move because he couldn't handle it or something. She told us the day before she left that she was moving. I was so pissed, not at her, even though I took it out on her, but because I never got to tell her how I felt. I know it sounds crazy, but I loved her."

"I don't understand. How could you feel something like that when you were in fourth grade?"

"I don't know. It is weird, but I haven't been able to keep her off of my mind since then. Well, until you came anyway. You have helped me so much. Well, um, enough of that." She couldn't help but shiver after he told her everything. "Are you cold? I have an extra sweatshirt right inside there, I'll be right back." Lucas ran inside and came back carrying a gray sweatshirt. "Here, it might be a little big, but it is all I have here." He gave her the sweatshirt and sat down next to her on the bench.

"Thank you Lucas. I was getting a little cold, but what about you? Aren't you going to get cold?"

"No, I'll be fine. Well, I should probably get you back to your houseguests. They are going to be wanting to hear every detail of this evening." He said with a smile. He put his hand out and to his surprise she actually took it. They walked down the stairs holding hands and just soaking in each others presence. They had just met the day before and already they felt comfortable just walking in complete silence. Jamie knew the reason, but for Lucas this was somewhat of a surprise. When they got to Jamie's house, Lucas told her to wait in the car. He got out, opened the door, took her hand and walked her to the door.

"Jamie, this has been the best night ever. I will never forget my first date with you. It will be a night to remember."

"Thank you Lucas. I have had an amazing night as well. You sure know how to make a girl feel special. Don't ever lose that ability." As she turned to open the door she remembered that she had his sweatshirt on still. "Here is your sweatshirt." She said as she started taking it off.

"No, don't worry about it. I will come get it at a later time. It will give me a chance to talk to you again. And it looks way better on you anyway."

"Thanks Lucas." She turned around again, but this time she couldn't open the door because Lucas grabbed her arm and turned her back around. She saw a look in his eyes that she had never seen before. "Lucas, what is it?"

"I was just wondering if maybe I could possibly kiss you. I mean I know that we just met and everything, but…"

"I thought that you would never ask." And with that Lucas leaned in and gave her a small kiss. It was nothing big or flashy, just a light kiss on the lips. She knew at that moment that she would always remember her first kiss as being an amazing end to a fabulous night.

"I'll see you later. I'll call you tomorrow Jamie."

"Bye Lucas." And with that he left and she walked into the house. As soon as she opened the door she was bombarded with questions. She answered every single question that they threw at her, except the part about the conversation on the roof. After the girls had all the juicy gossip and they had done the makeovers and had all the ice cream that they could handle they settled down and fell asleep.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

**The next morning**

Jamie was wide awake at 7:00. She hadn't been able to sleep very well because she couldn't stop thinking about her date with Lucas. Instead of waking up the other girls, she went into the kitchen to make herself coffee. She finally finished making the coffee when she noticed Brooke walking into the kitchen.

"Morning, do you want anything?"

"Just want to know why you are up so early today."

"Oh, I couldn't sleep. I was tossing and turning all night. It was so weird."

"No, I understand. I went out with Lucas too. The first date with him was insane. I remember that when we went out, I took him to a bar. We played pool and had a couple of drinks. We actually got wasted and then started making out. I even got him to get a tattoo. It was an insane night. It was one of those nights that changed my life. I felt so different after I spent time with him. I never thought that he would cheat on me."

"I know he made a stupid mistake, but he is human. And he has changed. I think that Lucas is a great guy."

"Oh, I know he is, but just be careful. Lucas and I are friends now, but it is still hard to trust him. Anyway, if he hasn't changed yet, I know that you will help him become the guy he always was."

"I don't think I can change anyone."

"Oh, come on. You are like some goody-too shoe. You are the type of person that changes others. Haley was one of those too. She changed Nate for the better. But anyway, do you mind if I take a shower?"

"Yea, of course you can take a shower. The towels are under the sink." Brooke begins to walk upstairs but stops. "Hey Brooke, thanks for helping me last night. I really appreciate it."

"No problem. I think that you and Lucas are cute together. And Lucas needs something good and constant in his life. I think you can give him both. Oh, and now you owe me." Brooke said with a smile as she ran up the stairs. Jamie just laughed at the comment and went outside to drink her coffee. As soon as she sat down on the porch swing she saw Lucas running up.

"Hey, I didn't know you'd be up this early. I figured you girls talked all night and would sleep all day."

"Yea, well we did talk for a couple hours and I couldn't sleep. I just kept tossing and turning."

"Me too, but instead of just sitting around I decided to take a little jog. My intentions were to jog by here in hopes that you were awake and then I was going to say I was just stopping by to get Nate, but I just told you my plan so it won't work now." Lucas let out a small chuckle.

"Don't worry your secret is safe with me. I had a really good time last night. I haven't felt that happy since I was a little girl. I guess I am just trying to say thank you for last night. It was perfect."

"I had a good time to. I can't believe I told you all the things that I did, but I guess I just feel comfortable with you. I know we haven't known each other too terribly long, but I was wondering where I stand with you."

"What do you mean by where do you stand? Do you mean are we going out 'girlfriend/boyfriend' or are we just friends that went out and shared a kiss good night?" Lucas shook his head yes. "Well, I guess I would have to think about it." She pauses for a minute. "Lucas, I really like you. I have liked you since I ran into you the second time. I have never gone out with anyone ever. You are the first boy that I have ever gone out with and the only boy that I have ever kissed. I don't want to get hurt. I don't know how much more hurt I can handle."

"I promise that I won't let anyone hurt you, including me. I know I made a mistake, but I am going to change."

"I heard a quote one day by Mahatma Gandhi which said, 'You have to be the change you wish to see in the world'. Luke, don't just say you are going to change. You have to do it."

"I will, I promise." Lucas said as he leaned in and gave her a little peck on the cheek. "I hate to say this, but I have to get going. I will definitely call you later. Bye Jamie."

"Bye Luke." She said as he ran back down the street. She didn't know what to do. A guy had asked her out. What was she going to tell John? Maybe she could keep it a secret for a while. Jamie finished her cup of coffee and went into the house to get ready for the day. She didn't want to be in her pajamas when John got home. The girls all left after lunch, but of course Peyton had seen Lucas running down the street so they heard what happened. After John got home he was surprised at the mess that he had expected to find and didn't. He had been ready to punish Jamie for leaving his house a mess. When he got home he was greeted with a warm supper and a friendly hello, which also surprised him. At that moment he figured something was up, but he didn't let it ruin the good mood he was in. He had just found out that he wouldn't have to leave for a long weekend again for at least another month or so.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

**2 weeks later**

For the past two weeks Jamie was usually never home. She was always at the café, Haley and Nathan's, school, or Lucas'. Jamie loved spending time with Lucas and his mom. She loved getting to know them all over again, even if they didn't know who she was. She also enjoyed hanging out by the river court and talking to the gang. They had all accepted her quickly and Tim even began to be nice. She knew that it was because of what Haley and Brooke had said, but she thought that Lucas and Nathan could have been an even bigger reason. John was not very happy with Jamie avoiding him, but he could never talk to her. He saw her maybe seven times in the past two weeks, and those times he made her pay. She knew that she was supposed to be home, but she made plenty sure that she would come home after he had passed out. As she usually did after school, Jamie was down at the river court with Lucas. He was playing a game with his long time buddies, Junk and Skills, and of course Nathan and Tim. They had planned on another guy from the team to show, but he never did. They didn't want anyone sitting out so they just shot around. As two of the balls collided at the basket, one went rolling towards the river, but lucky for Nathan, Jake was there to catch it.

"Hey man, nice to see you here." Lucas said shaking Jake's hand.

"Yea, I figured that I have done enough running. I'm back for good. Peyton and I went down to Savannah and picked Jenny up."

"We've missed you man, even though you can't get a rebound to safe your life." Nathan said with a slight chuckle.

"I've missed you guys too; there really is only one Tree Hill. It was so weird not having you guys or basketball. I was too busy to even pick up a basketball. I might be a little rusty for training camp."

"I think we have a way to help you get the rust off. Why don't you play a little pick-up game with us? We need another guy with some skills." Lucas said.

"Sure, that sounds fun. Peyton is watching Jenny at my parents' house, so I am free for a little bit." Jake looked around and saw Jamie talking to Mouth in 'the booth'. "Who is that talking to Mouth? I leave for like a month or so and Mouth gets a girlfriend!"

"Actually, that isn't Mouth's girlfriend." Nathan said looking over at Jamie.

"Oh, who is she?" Jake asked now really confused.

"That's Jamie, my girlfriend." Lucas said with a look of complete adoration. Jake had never seen Lucas like this over a girl, not even Brooke or Peyton.

"Really? How long have you two been going out?"

"Um, two weeks today actually." Lucas could not get the grin off of his face. And then finally snapping back into reality, "Why don't I introduce you and then we can start our game." Jake shook his head in agreement and they walked over to Mouth and Jamie. "Hey babe," Lucas said when they reached 'the booth'. "I want you to meet a friend of mine. Jamie this is Jake, Jake this is Jamie, my girlfriend." Jamie still couldn't believe that she was going out with Lucas Scott. Not only was he one of the most popular guys in school, but she had had a crush on him for six years (without even knowing what he had looked like or turned out to be).

"It is nice to meet you Jake. I have heard quite a bit about you and your daughter."

"Nice to meet you also. I'm sorry to say that I have heard nothing about you except that you and Lucas have been going out for two weeks." The guys start playing while Mouth and Jamie just watch. Jamie would watch Lucas for hours when they were little. She knew that he would go far with his basketball skills. After they had played for two hours, they finally called it quits. Jamie and Lucas walked to her house. She knew that John wouldn't be home for a little while and she wanted to spend time at her house. When they got there, they walked into the kitchen and sat down.

"Do you want anything to eat Luke?"

"Hello, I think we go over this every time we sit in the café. After basketball I need to eat." He said sarcastically and sincere at the same time. "What do you have to eat?"

"I don't know. Go check the refrigerator and/or the cupboard. I am going to go get some pop from my room." Lucas walked over to the cupboard and saw the Cheetos. He grabbed the bag and walked back over to the refrigerator and grabbed the bottle of ketchup. He looked around the kitchen for a plate. As soon as he found one, Jamie walked down the stairs. She went over to the cupboard, grabbed two glasses and then sat down next to Lucas. He had already started dipping the Cheetos in the ketchup.

"I know, you probably think this is gross, but I can't help it. Skills made me try it when I was younger and I haven't been able to quit eating it. I won't even let my mom buy Cheetos anymore because I would eat it all in one day." Lucas said.

"I don't think it's gross. Besides, that is the reason that we have Cheetos in this house. I love dipping them in ketchup. I don't know why, but I like the cheese and ketchup taste together." Lucas couldn't believe what he was hearing. He never knew anyone that liked Cheetos and ketchup together. Every person that would see him eat the concoction thought it was disgusting and he was nuts. He couldn't believe he found someone else that liked it.

"Let's take this stuff up to my room. I have the new Green Day CD that I want to listen to." They grabbed the chips, ketchup, and pop and headed up to Jamie's room. Lucas had only been in her room one other time, but he had remembered everything about it. They didn't even notice how quickly the time passed as they sat and talked over the Green Day CD that was playing in the background. All of a sudden Jamie heard footsteps coming up the stairs. She knew that there was no way to get Lucas out of the house without John seeing.

"Shit that is my dad!" Jamie said in a whisper. "I need you to hide in the closet. Please Lucas, I don't want him to see you. I will be in so much trouble. You have to promise that you won't come out until I tell you to."

"I don't want you to get in trouble."

"Just promise me that you will stay in the closet until I tell you to come out!" Jamie said with a whispered yell.

"Okay, I promise you." Lucas went into the closet and shut it just as John opened Jamie's door.

"Hey John, are you hung…" Jamie couldn't even get her sentence out before John slapped her. Lucas couldn't see what happened, but he did know that he heard a slap. He wanted to jump out of the closet, but he had made a promise to Jamie to stay in there. He could hear Jamie trying to hold back the tears whenever her dad hit her. All of a sudden, something slammed into the closet door pushing it open enough so that Lucas could see what was happening to his girlfriend. Finally after what seemed like an eternity he heard Jamie's door slam. He didn't come out until he saw Jamie sitting on the floor by the door crying. She had her legs tucked into her chest. Lucas got out of the closet and walked over to her. He sat down next to her and put his arm around her. When he did, he saw her jump and kind of back away before she looked up and saw who it was. As soon as she saw Lucas' face she buried her head into his shoulder. He didn't know what to say so he just held her. Finally, he couldn't stand the silence anymore.

"Jamie, babe…" Lucas still didn't know what to say, but he didn't need to say anything.

"Lucas…" Jamie said through racked sobs. "You cannot tell anyone about this."

"Why not Jamers?" Lucas said still whispering for the fear that her dad would hear him and come back.

"Don't worry, he has either passed out by now or left for some other bar. And you can't tell anyone because I have no one else. And if my dad gets taken away then I will have to leave Tree Hill and go in a foster home. And it is my fault, I shouldn't have been gone so much. I have only been home like seven times in the past two weeks. And on top of that, I was talking back to him and I know better than that."

"That gives him no reason to hit you and it is definitely not your fault."

"Lucas, just promise me."

"I have another question for you. Has this ever happened before?"

"Why do you ask?" Jamie said nervously.

"Everything makes sense now. I have never seen you trip or anything. You are like the least klutzy person that I have ever met. Has he ever hit you before?"

"Lucas…I…yes, he has. This isn't the first time, but each time I do something stupid."

"This is not your fault. Don't ever think that you deserve to get hit."

"Lucas, promise me." Jamie said starting to cry again.

"Okay, I prom…I promise you." Lucas stammered out. Jamie couldn't say anything. She didn't want to thank him because she wanted him to tell, but she didn't want to leave Tree Hill. She buried her head into his shoulder and cried. He held her while she cried herself to sleep. Lucas picked up his cell phone and called his mom.

"Hey mom, I am staying at Nathan's house tonight. We are playing PS2 and I figured that we don't have school tomorrow so it is okay."

"Yea, that is fine. Thank you for calling. I'll see you tomorrow." As Lucas hung up the phone he decided to call Nathan and Haley to tell them about his little white lie.

"Hello," a groggy Haley answered the phone.

"Hey Hales, I didn't think you would be sleeping right now. I just wanted to call and let you and Nathan know that I told my mom I was staying at your house tonight. I am over at Jamie's. She needed me to stay with her while her father is gone so I said yes."

"Okay, I just don't feel very good so I fell asleep on the couch while Nathan and I were watching a movie. I'll tell Nate so we don't ruin your lying streak."

"Thanks Hales, you're the best. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Bye Lucas." They both hung up the phone. Lucas didn't know what to do so he picked Jamie up and carried her over to the bed. After he tucked her in, he laid on top of the sheets. He held on to her all night not wanting anything else to happen to her. He felt like he had just fallen asleep when his cell phone rang.

"Hello…" Lucas said groggily.

"Hey Luke, do you want to come down to the River court and shoot around?"

"Yea let me wake Jamie up. We'll be over in about ten minutes."

"Sweet, see you then. Oh yea, your mom called a little while ago. She wanted to talk to you because you didn't answer your phone."

"What did you tell her?"

"I told her that you were in the shower and you would call her after you got out. So, you better call her now."

"Thanks Nate. I'll see you soon."

"Bye Luke." Lucas hung up the phone and then called his mom. She wanted him to invite Jamie over for lunch. After he got off the phone with his mom he shook Jamie softly.

"Morning babe," Lucas said smiling at her trying to wake up. "Are you okay?"

"Morning and I am fine. I am just a little sore. Did you stay here last night?"

"Yea, I didn't want to leave you…and you kind of fell asleep on me."

"Oh, sorry, but thank you, I appreciate it a lot. So, what are you doing today?"

"I was going to go down to the River court with Nathan and Haley, and probably other people and I was wondering if you wanted to come. And my mom wants to know if you want to come over for lunch. And I have a feeling she won't accept no for an answer."

"Sure, why not. I guess I have nothing else to do. But you have to remember that you promised that you wouldn't say anything. You have to go along with whatever I say."

"If you don't want to go to the River court that is all right. I don't have to go down there if you don't feel like seeing anyone."

"Luke, if I don't go, then people will get a little suspicious and I want to. Besides, I have never stayed in my room when this happened. Why would I start now?" Lucas didn't know what to say. He couldn't believe how she had already gotten over last night's events. He could never imagine even Dan hitting him or Nathan. "When are we meeting everyone?"

"Um, we are supposed to be at Haley and Nathan's in about ten minutes. Is that enough time?"

"Yea, it won't take me too long to get ready. I'll be out in a couple of minutes." Lucas was tying his shoes when Jamie came out. If he wouldn't have witnessed the beating, he wouldn't have even known. She did a good job of covering up the bruise on her face (it wasn't as bad as some of the ones in the past) and she had put on the sweatshirt that she had borrowed from him on their first date.

"Are you ready? We can probably grab some food at the café before we get to the court. My mom will have some bagels if you want."

"Sure, that sounds good to me. I'm pretty hungry." Lucas and Jamie went outside and walked across the street to get Nathan and Haley. Before Lucas could knock on the door, it opened and Nathan squeezed out.

"Hey guys, Haley isn't feeling well. Let's just get going I have to go to work this afternoon." They got in Nathan's car and drove to the river court. When they got there Lucas and Nathan started shooting around and Jamie just sat by and watched. Lucas had been trying to get Jamie to shoot around with him for the past two weeks. She always said no, but never gave a better reason than that she wasn't very good. She had played for a long time and she was okay, but she hadn't been able to play anything for a year.

**Flashback**

Abby had been outside with Andrea throwing a softball back and forth. They were both excited because softball was about to start and now they weren't stupid little freshman. Everyone respected Abby and Andrea because they were good middle infielders and they respected everyone, from the seniors to the freshman (even the ones that were mean to them). They had made the varsity team and beat even upper classmen out of the middle infield positions. They had been throwing the ball around for about an hour and a half when they heard John come outside.

"Andrea, your mom just called. She wants you to go home for supper." John walked back into the house with Andrea and Abby following. After Andrea left, John and Abby sat down to eat. Andrea didn't know that John had ever hit Abby, but she didn't think that Abby was as klutzy as she said she was. Everything went fine during supper, but then John decided that he needed some drinks. After he left for the bar Abby got on the phone with Andrea to talk about how they were going to go and practice their fielding after school. They talked on the phone for about forty minutes and then concluded their conversation online for another hour and a half because Andrea's little brother needed to use the phone. Abby hadn't heard John come in, but she was surprised when she felt a hand on her shoulder. When she turned around she saw how drunk John was and knew not to say anything to piss him off.

"Hi John, I was talking to Andrea. I didn't hear you come in…"

"How many times have I told you not to go online until you are done with your homework?"

"I am done…" she was stopped by John's hand hitting her face. He slapped her a few more times and then pushed her into her dresser and then into the closet. She felt her arm go numb and she didn't know what to do. After John left the room she waited for about ten minutes and then went downstairs and headed for the hospital. She knew that something was wrong with her arm and shoulder, but she couldn't tell what. Once she got to the hospital she was asked questions about what had happened. She knew that she couldn't tell anyone what really happened (mainly because they wouldn't believe her), so she told them that she had tripped down the stairs. The doctors examined her arm and then told her that she would need surgery on it because she had a full thickness rotator cuff tear and a dislocated shoulder. They told her that they had to call John to get parental consent for the surgery. John had somehow already slept off his drunkenness by the time they had called him and told him what had happened. He told the doctors that it was all right to perform rotator cuff surgery. When he got to the hospital they were already preparing for surgery. The surgery went fine, but the doctor told Abby that she would never be able to play softball again. The muscle in her arm would never be strong enough because a lot of damage had been caused to her arm when falling down the stairs.

**End Flashback**

She was brought out of her reminiscing by her stomach growling. Lucas and Jamie had forgotten to stop to get something to eat.

"Hey Lucas, I am going to go get something to eat, I am starving. Do you mind?"

"No, do you know where the café is?"

"Yes I do. We go there every day after you and Nate play basketball."

"Hey, do you want to take the car and we will just walk over when we are done." Nathan asked while shooting his free throws.

"Yea, if you don't mind I would love that. I didn't sleep very well last night and I am kind of tired of walking." Lucas knew that she had slept all night, so it must have been because of her dad.

"Geez Luke, did you keep her up all night? I thought you were going to take it slow this time?"

"Nathan how could you say that? Nothing happened last night between Lucas and me. We just talked and I fell asleep really early."

"Jamie, I'm sorry. I love to give Luke a hard time. I didn't mean to offend you." He felt bad because he knew that Jamie would never do that.

"It is okay, but I am going to take your car now. Have a nice walk to the café." She said as she waved good-bye and walked to Nathan's car. She drove over to Karen's Café and walked in to find the guy she had met the day before. She thought his name was Jake, but she wasn't sure. When she sat at the counter a lady that she had seen walking in and out of the café came over to take her order.

"Excuse me is that your car out there because my son has a car that looks exactly like it."

"No, it isn't my car. I borrowed it from my boyfriend's brother, Nathan."

"You are going out with Lucas?"

"Yes, we have been going out for the past two weeks. You know Lucas?"

"Nathan is my son."

"Oh, well, my name is Jamie. It is nice to meet you Mrs. Scott."

"It is very nice to meet you too Jamie, but please, call me Deb. What can I get for you?"

"Can I have four bagels and cream cheese, two coffees, a hot chocolate, and a banana nut muffin?"

"Of course, I will be right back with your order." Deb went to the back to get Jamie's order and Jake walked over to her.

"Isn't it a little warm out for hot chocolate?"

"Um, not really, it is never too warm for hot chocolate. It calms my nerves whenever I drink it. You're Jake right?"

"Yea, you're Lucas' girlfriend Jamie."

"Yes I am. So, do you have a girlfriend Jake?"

"Not exactly, there is this girl, but I don't think anything will ever come from it."

"Oh, come on. I highly doubt that, from what I have heard from Lucas I think you have a great chance with Peyton. Don't worry, I won't tell Peyton. But, why don't you ask her? I bet she would love to go out with you."

"I couldn't even think about it. Why would she want to go out with me? I am an ex-high school drop out and I have a daughter."

"Come on Jake, give yourself some credit. You came back to school and you left for your daughter. You were trying to protect her. And I bet Peyton would go out with you…she went out with Lucas AND Nathan."

"How do you know all these things? Are you sure you are new and not just finally coming outside?" Jake said with a chuckle.

"I'm sure I am new here, but Lucas and I talk a lot. And I have heard a lot from just sitting around and listening to people. That is my specialty; I am like invisible most of the time." Jake and Jamie stopped talking when Deb came back out with the food.

"That will be $10.73." Jamie handed her $15 dollars, said thank you, and walked out. Deb didn't know anything about this girl, but she had a feeling that she knew her from somewhere. She thought about asking Nathan the next time she saw him. Jamie hopped in the car and drove back to the river court.

"Hey guys, I know I told you to walk to the café, but I got you some food. I was guessing you would be hungry after all the basketball you played. Why don't you take a break for a little while and eat." The guys walked over and started eating the bagels that she had bought for them.

"Thanks James, this is good. How did you know what we wanted?" Nathan asked.

"Hello, I have been here for two weeks and every time you guys have breakfast at the café you get these things. I'm not stupid. I pay attention."

"I thought you only paid attention to two things, school and Lucas." Nathan said with a sarcastic smile.

"No, I only pay attention to…school…that is way more important than anything else. I just pretend to pay…" she couldn't get the last part out because Lucas started tickling her. For those couple of seconds she forgot about everything that had happened. That always seemed to happen, that was the reason she was always around the people that had become her closest friends. They helped her forget everything bad that had happened to her in her life without even knowing. She had grown close to every one of them.

"Hello, earth to Jamie. You are so good at spacing out." Lucas said waving his hand in front of her face.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I do that sometimes."

"What were you thinking about?"

"Um, I was just thinking about this new CD that I got a couple of days ago. I was wondering if you ever heard of them. They are called The Plain White T's and their album is All That We Needed. They are really good. I am a big fan of the CD."

"No, I haven't heard of that band. Peyton probably has though. You should ask her."

"Okay, I will ask her later." She knew that Peyton knew about the group because she was the one that introduced her to The Plain White T's. After the guys were done eating they shot around for another hour or so. Then they drove back to Luke's so that he and Nathan could get a quick shower in before they had to meet Karen for lunch. After they were done showering and Nathan had left for work Lucas sat down on the couch and motioned for Jamie to sit next to him. He didn't know how he was going to say this, but he knew he had to try.

"Jamie, I don't know how long I can keep this thing a secret. I don't want to see you hurt and now I know that every time I see you with bruises, I know that you were not being a klutz. I like you so much Jamie and I don't want to see you hurting. Please, let me tell someone. You could get emancipated like Nathan or someone in Tree Hill could adopt you…I just don't want to lose you."

"Lucas, no one will believe you if you tell them. My dad is one of the best bull-shitters in the world. He could lie well enough to make a nun swear. Lucas, he is good at making people believe him, he should have been a car-salesman. And besides, if he found out that you saw what happened, we would both get it. I am asking, no, I am begging you…do not tell anyone. I will be eighteen in a couple of years and I will be going off to college. I can take it for that long."

"But Jamie, what if next time it gets worse? What if the next time it goes from a bad bruising to him accidentally killing you?"

"Lucas, he has never gone that far. You have to believe me when I say that he isn't capable of that much harm. Please, promise me again that you won't tell anyone!"

"I have already promised that I wouldn't tell anyone and I am not one to go back on my word, but if anything serious happens, I will not be afraid to tell. Besides, my mom will believe me."

"Speaking of your mom, shouldn't we be headed for the café now? We don't want her to get worried." When they stood up to leave, Lucas leaned over and gave her a kiss on the cheek and promised that he wouldn't let her dad hurt her again. They walked out the door and headed for the café. When they reached the café, Karen was already clearing a place for them to eat lunch. The way she went about clearing a table and putting plates and glasses down brought back the memories of the day she told Lucas and Haley she was leaving.

"Lucas, Jamie, nice of you two to join me here." She walked over and gave Lucas a hug. "How was staying at Nathan and Haley's last night? You didn't stay up too terribly late did you?"

"No, we fell asleep early, Haley wasn't feeling well." He looked over at Jamie to make sure she wasn't going to say anything to blow his cover. Jamie knew he hadn't stayed at Nathan's, but she didn't want Lucas to get grounded.

"What were you doing at Nathan's last night?" Jamie asked curious to what he told Karen.

"Oh, we just played PS2 and sat around and talked. Haley wasn't feeling well so we went to bed fairly early. I beat him a couple times in NBA Live and he beat me. It was a rather boring night." He said while giving a small glare over at Jamie.

"So, what's for lunch Karen? It smells amazing!"

"Well, I figured that I would make you one of Lucas' favorite dishes. I used to cook it when he was little, but he stopped eating it a couple years ago. It took me forever to find the recipe, but I thought you and Lucas would love it." Jamie thought back to the times when she would eat at Lucas' house. Karen had always made them BBQ chicken with cheesy mash potatoes, baked beans, corn, and dinner rolls for dinner with strawberry cheese cake for dessert. Karen thought that pop was bad for them, so she always made pink lemonade. Jamie had no idea that Lucas hadn't been able to eat his favorite meal after she left. That was the last meal that she had eaten with them. As they ate, they talked about what had been going on during the past couple of days in school and what plans they had for the summer.

"Jamie, do you have plans for the summer?" Karen asked.

"No, I don't have any plans. I should probably either get a job or do some summer schooling. But I am going to need money for college, so I will probably start looking for a job soon."

"Well, I need some one to waitress at the café and at TRIC. If you are interested, I would love for you to work here. You could start as soon as tomorrow if you wanted the job."

"I would love to help you out. It would be really fun. And I could definitely start tomorrow."

"Great, then I will see you tomorrow around ten. I need you here for the lunch shift and if you come early, then I can get you associated with the place. And don't worry, Lucas will be working tomorrow so you will know someone." Lucas looked shocked when Karen said he was working.

"Mom, do I have to work? That is so not fair! I don't get paid to work here…you just make me."

"Come on Luke, we will be working together. We can take a break at the same time and…" she looked over at Karen and saw a look of discomfort starting to come to her face. "We can hangout together all the time."

"Yea, I guess that will be fun. But, I promised Keith that I would come in and help him out at the garage. I'll see you a little later. Will you be around?"

"Do you want me to be around when you get back?" Lucas shook his head. "Yea, maybe I will be in the park or here or I don't know. Give me a call on my cell."

"Sure, I'll give you a call when I'm done helping. I'll see you later babe." He gave Jamie a small kiss. "Bye Mom, I'll be home for supper."

"Bye Luke, be home by 6:30." After Lucas left, Jamie and Karen sat around for a little while talking about lunch. When Karen started cleaning up, Jamie got up to help. "You don't have to clean up, go have fun. This was my mess. I'll clean up."

"No way, I helped eat, so I will help clean." They walked back to the sink and started doing the dishes. "What did you think I was going to say Karen? I'm not like that, don't worry. I didn't mean for you to think that I was trying to seduce Lucas. I don't want you to think badly of me."

"Don't worry Jamie. I know that you wouldn't do that. Sometimes I just have a hard time trusting Lucas after some things that happened this year. I know I should trust him, because he is a good kid, but it is hard to have that trust for him."

"I understand, but don't worry Lucas is a good kid."

"Because of you, Jamie. Lucas was on the wrong side for a while. I'm not saying that I hate the friends he made, but it was just weird that he went from hanging out with Haley who was a quiet A-student to going out with Brooke who was a wild party girl. I think they both have changed in good ways, but it is still hard for me to trust Luke completely." After that, they did the dishes in silence.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

**Keith's Garage**

When Lucas got to the garage, he saw that Keith had a car that he had seen a couple of times before. He couldn't remember where he had seen that car from. When he got inside the shop, he saw a man sitting in the waiting room. He couldn't figure out why the guy looked so familiar, but he found out pretty quickly.

"Hey Luke, this is John Bausch, Jamie's father." Keith said looking up to see Luke walking in. Lucas went from confused to utterly angry at the man standing in front of him. But he knew he couldn't say anything because of the promise he made to Jamie.

"Hi Mr. Bausch, it is nice to meet you. Jamie and I are pretty good friends. She's a great girl. Well, I better get started on whatever you need me to do Uncle Keith." He shook the man's hand, but couldn't keep eye contact with him.

"Nice to meet you also Lucas, Jamie talks about you quite a bit." Lucas knew he was lying because he asked if she ever told her dad anything, which she told him that she had never really said anything to him. Lucas walked into the shop to find Nathan working on a car. It still surprised him to see Nathan working in the shop and not in the business area with his, their dad. It was weird how Nathan changed from never having to get grease under his fingernails to loving it. Lucas really loved working and playing with Nathan. He never thought that he would like Nathan, because of the first part of the year, but he soon grew to love his brother more than anything. Nathan surprisingly felt the same way about how his life had turned out. Nathan and Lucas were working on John's car when he came in to pick it up.

"I'm sorry Mr. Bausch, but your car isn't quite ready yet. We are working as fast as we can, but we want to do a good job." Lucas said hoping that he wasn't mad.

"Don't worry, but can I talk to you?" Lucas looked surprised, but shook his head. They walked outside so Nathan couldn't hear what they were talking about.

"So, you are friends with Jamie?" Lucas again shook his head and was about to say something but was cut off by John. "You listen and you listen good. You stay away from her. She doesn't need you ruining her chance of getting into a good school. She doesn't need you to distract her from her school work. Do you understand me? I don't want to see you anywhere near our house again. If I catch you in my house with my daughter there is going to be hell to pay. I hear you are an intelligent boy, so I know that you will have no problem understanding this." Lucas didn't know what to say. Lucas didn't answer, but John thought that he had gotten his point across. He told him that he would come back in an hour and they better have his car fixed. Lucas went back inside and didn't say anything to Nathan and Nathan didn't try and find out. By that time, he knew when it was safe to talk to his brother about certain things. They were just finishing the car when John came back. Lucas didn't want to see the man's face so he went to the back to do some paper filing for Keith. He hadn't heard Brooke come in, but she needed to talk to him.

"Hey Luke" he jumped about five feet. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."

"Don't worry, I guess I'm just a bit jumpy right now." Lucas didn't want to tell her why, but he didn't know how to keep it in.

"Are you jumpy because you're afraid of Jamie's dad? I saw him talking to you outside a while ago. Felix and I were walking by and he didn't seem very happy with you. What did you do to Jamie? I swear Luke, if you hurt her in any…"

"Brooke, it isn't like that. I would never hurt Jamie. I know you are still mad at me for what happened, and damn, you have all the right in the world to be pissed at me still. But I would never hurt Jamie. I really love her…" he couldn't believe what had just come out of his mouth. He had never told anyone that.

"I know Lucas, but I'm just making sure. You are a good guy Luke, and I think that Jamie is great for you. But, if you didn't break her heart, then what did her dad talk to you about?" She was surprised that he had said that he loved her. They had only been going out for two weeks.

"Um, well, I guess her dad doesn't want us dating or something. He thinks that I will distract her from her school work, but I don't. We do our homework together all the time, so it isn't like I am distracting her from her studies. I just don't understand why…"

"Lucas, he is just being protective of Jamie. He loves her and is just trying to help her out. You have to think about the protection of a father with his only daughter." Lucas knew that wasn't the reason John didn't want him to see Jamie, but he couldn't tell Brooke the real reason.

"Yea, you are probably right Brooke."

"So what are you going to do?"

"I don't know. I'm not breaking up with her. She is the best thing that has happened to me in a while. I love hanging out with her."

"Then my advice for you is to not get caught by this guy." Brooke couldn't help but smile at her advice. She knew that Lucas was happy with Jamie and she knew that Jamie was definitely happy with Lucas. Lucas was becoming the guy that she knew he could be. She was happy that they became friends after everything that had happened between them. "Well, Felix, Anna, Mouth, and I are going to the beach for a little fun in the sun. Be careful with Jamie, okay? I don't want her heart broken, yours either." With that, she walked away. Lucas didn't know what to think about her last statement, but he didn't care. He knew that he wouldn't break Jamie's heart, he loved her. He kept thinking about how he had told Brooke that he loved Jamie. He couldn't believe that he had said it already, but he knew it was true. He loved spending time with her and when he wasn't with her he was either talking to her or thinking about her. He had never felt this way before, but he knew that he liked it. He decided that he had to see her right away. He picked up his cell phone and dialed her number.

"Hey babe," He loved how she answered the phone.

"Hey James, what are you up to right now?"

"Well, homework for Monday, but that is about it. Why?"

"Oh, I was wondering if you wanted to hang out."

"Yea, meet me at the library." He ran out to the front of the store to tell Keith that he was leaving.

**10 minutes later**

"Hey, Lucas. Did you run the whole way here? You seem out of breath."

"Yea, I just wanted to see you and I just couldn't take my time." The smirk on his face quickly disappeared when he remembered what he needed to tell Jamie. "Hey, um, do you want to go out tonight? I know it is kind of short notice, but I really want to go out tonight."

"Where were you thinking of going?"

"I was thinking about going to the restaurant we went to on our first date."

"Yea, I would love to go out tonight. I'm going to go get ready at Brooke's. I have kept a couple things there. Pick me up at 5:00."

"Okay, see you then. Bye Jamie."

"Bye Lucas."

**5:00**

Lucas was nervous going over to Brooke's house to pick Jamie up. He didn't know if Jamie's dad knew about them going out or if he thought they were just friends. As he walked up to the house he remembered the times that he had gone to pick Brooke up. As he got up to the door he saw Brooke and Jamie sitting and talking on the couch. He didn't know what they were talking about, but it must have been something sad because Brooke looked like she had been crying and then he saw Jamie give her a hug. He wanted to know what was wrong, but he figured he would find out eventually. He rang the doorbell and a couple minutes later he saw Brooke come to the door. He could tell that she had been crying, but she had done a good job of playing it off.

"Hey Luke, Jamie went to go get a coat from my room. She said she didn't want to steal another one of your sweatshirts." As soon as she was done saying this Jamie showed up at the door.

"Hey Luke, I can't believe that you are late. You are always here on time and it gets annoying sometime."

"Well, I figured that I would see what this being late is like. And it isn't like you aren't ready when I come to pick you up on time. Well, are you ready to go?"

"Yes I am. I don't even know why you ask me that." She went over and gave Brooke a hug. "I'll call you when I get home."

"Okay, sounds good to me." With that Brooke went back in the house and Jamie and Lucas walked to his car. They drove in silence except for the radio. It wasn't the comfortable silence that they were used to. Jamie felt that there was something on Lucas' mind, but she didn't know what it was. He was always good at hiding what he was feeling.

"Lucas, is there something wrong. You haven't said too much and it is starting to worry me."

"Yea, there are a couple of things on my mind. I was actually at Brooke's house on time, but when I was walking up I saw through her window. Why was Brooke crying? I know you probably promised that you wouldn't say anything, but Brooke and I are friends and I want to help her."

"You saw everything?" Lucas shook his head. "I actually didn't promise her because we figured that you hadn't seen anything. But, um, please don't tell anyone else. I don't know if she wants a lot of people to know. I'm guessing you knew that Brooke's dad was looking for a job because he lost his other one. Well, he got a job."

"That's great though. Brooke loves having money." Lucas said with a little joking ness in his voice.

"Yea, she does love the money, but the problem is that they have to leave Tree Hill. The job is out in California. They have to move in a little over a week. She just found out today and I was there when she found out. She doesn't know how to tell you guys. For some reason she thinks it is going to be especially hard to tell you, but I guess she doesn't have to tell you now."

"Oh, wow. I don't know what to say. I didn't expect that."

"Yea, what can I say. I guess I'm not very good at keeping secrets." She felt good for telling Lucas. She knew that he still cared about her as a friend and he deserved to know. They drove in silence for a while longer. When they got to the restaurant she could tell that something was still bothering him, but she figured she would wait until after dinner. They got their food and started eating. The conversation was pretty light, but at least they were talking. Towards the end of the conversation Jamie started getting worried about Lucas' odd behavior, but she got really worried when Lucas spoke up.

"Um, there is something that I need to tell you, but I don't know if I should."

"Lucas, you can tell me anything. You know that you can trust me."

"Well, it isn't that I can't trust you. It is the fact that I don't know if you want to hear it. But, I think I should tell you." He paused which made Jamie's mind begin to wander. She figured that they were over. She had no idea what else would be so hard for him to talk to her about.

"Lucas, I…" He saw the look in her eyes and he immediately knew what she was thinking. He didn't want her getting the wrong ideas, so he continued.

"Okay, here goes. So, I was working on your dad's car today and he came in before we were done." He looked at Jamie and saw her eyes glaze over with fear. "And he asked if I could talk to him. So, we went outside and he asked if I was friends with you. I told him I was and he was not very happy. I didn't tell him we were going out, but he told me that he didn't want me to see you. But I can't not see you Jamie…I love you." He couldn't believe that he had just said that to her. He knew that it was true, but it surprised him when he said it to her. She was surprised as well. She couldn't believe what he said. It wasn't that she didn't feel the same way, but she was still surprised by it. "I know you probably think that I am nuts for saying that, but it is the truth. I have never felt this way about anyone before. I love being with you and when we aren't together I love talking to you on the phone or whatever and even when I can't talk to you I think about you. I don't know what I am doing, but I am not going to take that back. And I am not going to let your dad get in the way of our relationship." Jamie didn't know what to say. She was still shocked that he had told her that he loved her. She hadn't been told those words since Dana had died three years earlier. "Jamie, just because I said that I love you, it doesn't mean that you should feel like you have to. I want you to…"

"I love you too Lucas." Neither Lucas nor Jamie could believe that she had said that, but just like Lucas it just came out. Neither one could believe that they had said those words to each other, but neither was going to take it back. After they were done eating they took a long walk on down by the river talking about everything that had happened that day. They were trying to find a way to keep their relationship from John and how to get Brooke's parents to let her stay in Tree Hill. By the end of the night they had come up with a plan to help Brooke. They both wanted her to stay and they prayed that this plan would work. When Lucas took Jamie back home they both saw John's car in the driveway. They hadn't expected to see him home.

"Lucas, keep driving and go around the block. I told him that I was at the library studying and alone. I told him that I didn't need a ride, so I should probably walk a block at least." Lucas turned the corner just like Jamie had said. He didn't want her to get in trouble, because he knew what would happen if she got in trouble. He dropped her off and watched her walk into her house. He could do nothing for her except pray that she made it to tomorrow. He needed to tell someone, but he couldn't think of who he could talk to.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

He just started driving and soon found himself at the church. He couldn't remember the last time he had been inside the church; it must have been six years ago when Kelly had died. He parked his car and started towards the church. He didn't know what he was doing, but he couldn't stop himself. When he got in the church he felt a little better, but he didn't know why. He walked to the front of the church and sat down in the first pew. He didn't know why or even when he started crying, but he found himself wiping his eyes. All of a sudden he felt a hand touching his shoulder, which made him jump. He looked up and saw Father Opitz standing next to him.

"Lucas, what brings you here?" Father Opitz asked.

"Um, I don't know actually. I was driving home after taking my girlfriend home and somehow I just ended up here." He knew that Father Opitz knew who he was because his mother had made him come to church when he was younger, but after Abby's mom died he refused to go to church because he couldn't understand why God would take away his best friend and her mom. He also knew that Father Optiz knew Jamie because she had been going to mass every Sunday since she got there.

"Is there anything you want to talk about?"

"Um…" Lucas knew that he had to talk to someone, but he had promised Jamie. "Yea, I do need to talk to someone, but I promised this friend that I wouldn't tell anyone."

"Well Lucas, you are a bright young man and I know that you will do the right thing. Is something wrong with this friend?" Lucas didn't know what to say.

"Father, what if you made a friend promise something very important and then you found out that your friend told someone. Would you be mad at that friend?"

"Well, I suppose it depends on what it is that I made them promise."

"I can't keep this anymore. Okay, so I have this friend and her dad is a real jerk. Well, one night I was over at her house and I saw him hit her. Her dad didn't see me, but she made me promise that I wouldn't tell anybody. She said that it wasn't the first time that it had happened, but that she deserved it and she had egged him on. I didn't know what to do, so I just promised her that I wouldn't say anything." After he had finished his little rant he looked up at Father Optiz's face. Father Optiz had just been listening with a look of bewilderment.

"Who is this friend Lucas?"

"I can't tell you that. I have told you what I wasn't supposed to tell anyone. Please, it is killing me right now to think of her father hitting her. But she says that no one will believe her if she tells people."

"Well, I believe what you are telling me and I am going to tell you to go to the police. Lucas, you care about this girl and you don't want to see her get hurt. Am I right?" Lucas shook his head. "Well, then I suggest that you go and help her. You both might be thinking that it is helping her if you don't tell, but I believe that it will just get worse."

"But Father, if I tell and people believe me, then she will get taken away from here. I can't lose her. I cannot lose another person in my life. I have lost enough already." Father Optiz knew what he was talking about. He remembered Kelly and Abby and loved them both.

"Lucas, you might lose her if you don't tell anyone also. If you tell someone and she leaves Tree Hill at least she will still be alive and you will be able to talk and see her again. It is kind of hard to see someone when they are dead. You are a smart kid, I know that you will do the right thing, but I am leaving it up to you. Make the right choice Lucas." With that, Father Optiz left Lucas to consider what he had just said. Lucas stayed at the church for another couple hours trying to figure out what to do, but he still hadn't come up with any answer. He was in a strong daze when he felt his phone vibrating in his pocket. He forgot that he had his phone on, but he was glad that he had it on vibrate. He walked out the church and picked up his phone.

"Lucas Eugene Scott! Where are you? You told me that you would be home for supper!" His mom's voice rang through the phone. He looked at his watch and saw that it was already eleven.

"Mom, I'm so…"

"Lucas, I don't want to hear it right now. You get your sorry ass back home. We will talk when you get back." She knew that her little outburst may make him stay away, but she figured she would try.

"Okay, I'm sorry mom. I'll be home in a couple minutes." As he drove home he couldn't help but notice how much his mom cared about him. He wasn't even upset at her for yelling at him to come home. He knew that as soon as he opened the door he was going to get it from his mom.

"Lucas Scott, I thought I told you to be…" she couldn't finish her sentence because Lucas walked over and gave her a hug. "What was that for? I was yelling at you and you give me a hug." Karen was very bewildered by her son's actions.

"Mom, I'm really sorry about not being home. I was at the garage and Jamie's dad wanted to talk to me. And because of that conversation with him I needed to talk to Jamie about us."

"What did her father say?"

"He told me that he didn't want me to see Jamie because I am a distraction."

"You didn't break up with Jamie did you?"

"No, but I wanted to tell her what her dad had said. She figured that we would get through this. So I dropped her off at home and then I just had a lot of different things on my mind. I just drove around and pretty soon I wound up at church. I know you probably don't believe me, but it's true. You can even ask Father Optiz; I talked to him for a little while. I just needed to clear my head and figure out some things."

"Well, did you figure things out?" Lucas shrugged his shoulders and let Karen continue. "You know you could have called me to tell me."

"I know, and I am sorry. Am I grounded?"

"Lucas, I know you didn't do anything wrong, but I need to know that the next time you say you are going to be home you have to be home. So, yes, I am going to ground you for two days."

"I can live with that. I am sorry that I didn't come home or call. I'll be in my room for the next two days. Oh, and I hugged you because I wanted to thank you for caring enough to ground me." He walked to his room and shut the door. He then remembered what he had told Jamie. He forgot that he had promised to find a place for Brooke to stay. He picked up his cell phone and started dialing Jamie's number. He prayed that her dad wouldn't pick up the phone, but he didn't have to worry to long because his mom came in and grabbed his cell phone.

"I told you that you were grounded and then I realized that you still had your cell phone. And you can't be grounded with a cell phone, so you will get it back in two days."

"Mom, that is so not fair. I have to talk to Jamie about…"

"Lucas, you are grounded and that has always meant no phone, television, or computer, just school, homework, and chores." She knew that she was being a little hard on him, but this wasn't the first time that he had forgotten to call when he wasn't going to be home when he was supposed to. He knew the rules and he also knew what the consequences for breaking them were. "Now, I think that you better get some sleep because you have to wake up bright and early to help me with the café tomorrow." Lucas just turned around and headed for the bathroom. He knew that he wasn't supposed to use the phone when he was grounded, but it was for an important talk.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

**The next day**

Lucas woke up to his alarm at quarter after five. He wanted to hit snooze, but he knew that if he didn't wake up now his mom would be in to, and she wasn't as nice as the alarm was. He walked to the shower and hopped in. He sat in there for a little while trying to figure out what he could do to help Brooke. His thoughts were interrupted by a loud banging noise on the door. He hopped out of the shower and threw on a towel and walked to the door. He knew that his mom was already at the café because she had told him while he was in the shower. He opened the front door and saw Jamie standing there. The first thing he thought was that something went wrong, but that theory was proven wrong when he saw the smile on Jamie's face. Jamie couldn't help but smile when she saw Lucas. She hated getting up as early as she had to, but she was happy because she was going to get to see Lucas. She actually kind of blushed when Lucas opened the door. She didn't know what she was doing, but she wanted to make sure that he was okay. She had tried calling him last night, but he didn't answer his phone.

"Hey Jamie, come on in." Lucas said as he stepped back to let her in.

"Thanks."

"Are you ready to go to the café?" Jamie shook her head. For some reason she couldn't say anything. She felt kind of embarrassed for some reason. "Okay, well, let me go put some clothes on and we can go." He walked out of the room with a smirk. He saw that Jamie was a little embarrassed by showing up and him being in a towel, but he was glad that she was there. He had lain awake for almost two hours trying to figure out what to do for Brooke. Lucas came out pulling a shirt on.

"Okay, I'm ready. Let's get going so I don't get in trouble with my mom anymore than I already am." Jamie was a little confused.

"Why are you already in trouble with your mom? What did you do this time?" She asked that last question with a little sarcasm.

"Well, I was supposed to be home for supper, but then I needed to talk to you. So I asked you out and then after I dropped you off there were some things that I needed to sort out in my head so I just started driving. And when I stopped I found myself at the church. So, I went in and I lost track of time. She called me around eleven and I went home and got grounded for two days for not calling. She took my cell phone, internet, and cable away."

"Oh, that is why you didn't answer your phone." Lucas shook his head. "I'm sorry that I got you in trouble."

"Don't, you didn't do anything."

"Well, I still feel bad. And don't tell me I can't…it won't work."

"Fine, oh, don't let me forget to ask my mom about Brooke."

"I won't let you forget anything ever again. I want to be able to see and talk to my boyfriend." Jamie said smiling. "I would ask Brooke to stay with me, but with my dad that is probably not the smartest thing." Lucas shook his head. He wasn't sure if he agreed with that though. Maybe if Brooke would be there then her dad wouldn't hit her as much. He had thought about all these different possibilities when he was lying in bed, but nothing really helped her. Finally, he decided that if her dad didn't stop hitting her in a month he would go and tell the police. He also figured that he wouldn't tell Jamie because she would somehow talk him out of doing it. She was very good at making him do what she wanted, but in a good way. They finally made it to the café. It took them a little longer than it usually did, but that was because Karen had taken away Lucas' car keys seeing as he was grounded. When they got inside Karen and Jake were getting ready and looked at the two as they walked in.

"Jamie? What are you doing here so early? I thought you were coming in around 10?"

"I was going to, but then I remembered that Lucas was going to be going in early and I had nothing better to do." Jamie said hopping onto a stool.

"What about sleep?" Jake asked. Everyone could tell that all he wanted to be doing right that moment was sleeping.

"Well, I got plenty of it last night. I don't have a cute little baby girl waking me up at all hours of the night. Plus, I went to bed really early."

"Then you might as well get started. There is always plenty to do." Karen said. Lucas and Jake both stood there shaking their heads. "Okay, so the mornings are a little slow, but we pick up around lunchtime. Let's go get you settled." So Karen showed Jamie around the café, even though she had been there almost every day since she had moved to Tree Hill. But 12:00 came too fast and the lunch crowd plus some where crammed into the tiny café. As Jamie moved around the café pouring water and coffee and picking up plates she remembered how she would always pretend that Karen needed help so she would go around asking people if they were done eating. It wasn't that she wanted them to leave, but she wanted to help out. Everyone that came to the café knew her and so they would always find something that they didn't need or were done with that wouldn't break if she dropped it. She had always enjoyed going around and having people ask her questions, but now was a completely different story. She didn't know a lot of the people anymore. Yes, she knew some of them because they were always there, but they didn't know her like they use to. She was interrupted from her thoughts when someone ran into her.

"I'm so sorry sir; I thought I was out of the aisle. It was my fault Karen, I'm so sorry." Jamie said as she started picking up the napkins and plates that she had dropped. Karen wasn't upset, she actually felt bad for Jamie. Not only was it not her fault, but the ass that ran into her was none other than Dan Scott, the bastard father of her son.

"Geez Karen, I think you need new help, especially when they can't get out of the way of customers." Karen just glared at Dan. Then he turned his attention to Jamie. "Maybe you should learn how to be a waitress." Jamie just stared at him. "What are you? Stupid or just slow? Move your fat ass!" Just as he was saying this Haley, Nathan, and Lucas walked into the café from the back. Lucas had missed what happened because he was taking the trash out and then he ran into Nathan and Haley. Lucas could tolerate when Dan belittled him, but the things he was saying to Jamie were uncalled for. Lucas ran over to Jamie and ignoring his 'father' bent down to help her.

"Are you okay?" Jamie shook her head and continued cleaning up. Lucas stood up in front of Dan ready to punch him.

"So Lucas, I see you are sleeping with the hired help. Maybe you should have moved in with me, and then you would have learned a few things, like how to pick girls." Just as Lucas was about to punch Dan, Jamie grabbed his arm and Nathan was in front of him pushing him away.

"Luke, he isn't worth it." Nathan kept saying. While Lucas struggled to get free of Nathan's grasp, Dan just sat there laughing. The entire café was watching, but Lucas didn't care. Dan had no right to be there. Finally Jamie started calming Lucas down.

"Luke, hey, I'm fine. Forget about him. He just wants to piss you off, which is working by the way. Plus, you don't really want to hit him in front of your mom." Lucas looked at her as though she was nuts.

"Yea, actually I do. I want to smack him for her, for you, for Deb, for me and Nate, for Keith, and for everyone that has ever come in contact with that asshole." Jamie didn't know what to say or do. When she looked at Nate, he just shook his head. Then she looked back at Dan who was still laughing at the whole situation.

"Fine, but I'm only giving you one punch Luke. You better make it a good one." She said just loud enough for Lucas and Nathan to hear. Lucas walked up to Dan with an expressionless face.

"So, your girlfriend talked you into apologizing. At least she's a smart girl."

"Yea, she is. And I guess you could say she talked me into apologizing." Lucas replied as he hit Dan hard in the face.

"I'm sorry that you are such an ass of a father, husband, and human being. And I'm sorry I didn't do that earlier." Lucas turned around and walked to the back room leaving Dan laying on the floor bleeding. Karen walked up to Dan and handed him a napkin.

"Next time I wouldn't say anything bad about Jamie. Lucas is very protective of her." Karen followed her son into the back room. When he turned around Lucas was expecting to get yelled at.

"Mom, I'm sorry. He had it coming. He's had it coming for a long time. He doesn't know anything about Jamie. And I just couldn't let him continue laughing at her. She's been going through a lot." Karen didn't know what Lucas was talking about, be he had been talking so fast that he had to stop and Karen finally found a place to cut in.

"Lucas, I know that what Dan said was mean and wrong, but you still shouldn't have hit him."

"I know it was wrong, but…am I in a lot of trouble?"

"No, you are already grounded, but next time let's try another approach to getting even with Dan Scott." Karen paused for a second while Lucas nodded in agreement. "Okay, you three, you can come in here now." Jamie, Haley, and Nathan walked out from behind the freezer. They had been hiding there in hopes of being able to hear the conversation and if needed assist Lucas in getting out of being in deeper trouble.

"Karen, I'm sorry. I sort of told Lucas he could hit Dan once." Jamie said starting to explain.

"I figured. Now let's get back to work." Karen said cutting Jamie off. She walked to the front and saw everything was back to normal and Dan was gone. The four teenagers walked out a couple minutes later. She smiled at them remembering another time Lucas stood up for a friend. He always seemed to pick fights with people who were bigger than he was.

**Flashback**

As Karen sat on the porch with Keith, her ex-boyfriend's brother slash her best friend and the uncle of her son, she watched six year-old Abby, Lucas, and Haley playing outside with a big new ball. After only about five minutes, a neighbor boy, who was around eight, came over and just picked up the ball that was next to Abby who was fixing her shoe. Abby, being a pretty outspoken child was not very happy because she had just gotten the ball for her birthday.

"Can I have that back?" She asked nicely.

"What do you say?" The kid asked.

"Please, can we have the ball back?"

"No." That was it. She had tried to be nice.

"GIVE ME THAT BACK! IT ISN'T YOURS!" She yelled.

"Finders keepers." The boy said back. Karen was about to get up and help, but Keith grabbed her arm.

"That only works if the thing was lost in the first place. And that ball was not lost. I set it down to fix my shoe."

"Well, too bad. It found a new home in my arms. Now get out of my way pipsqueak." He said as he pushed her out of the way. Lucas and Haley were both just standing there watching, but when Lucas saw Abby fall he was over there in a second. He helped Abby up and then ran at the boy trying to tackle him. The boy just laughed and pushed Lucas away. When Lucas got up he started running again, but Abby grabbed him.

"Lucas stop, I'm fine and that boy is much bigger than you are. Let's just go in." But Lucas wouldn't listen.

"No Abby, I don't like how he always takes our toys." So he walked over and punched the kid in the stomach. It didn't hurt the kid a lot, but it did make him extremely mad. Karen saw what Lucas did, but Keith stopped her again. He figured that Lucas would learn his lesson very quickly. When the kid finally got off the ground he wound up to punch Lucas. But Lucas saw it coming and ducked which made the kid punch the tree that was in front of him.

**End Flashback**

Karen smiled remembering that day. The boy ran home crying and never stole another toy from them. She couldn't even punish Lucas, she yelled at him, but Keith had been there and Lucas hadn't even hit the kid hard.

"Mom, Jamie and I are going to take a lunch break. Jake and Deb said they have everything under control."

"Okay, actually you guys are done here. Just tell Jamie that she is working Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday after school and then Sunday at breakfast time. Now, go have fun with the rest of the day off. Don't forget you're grounded, so stay at the house…in the living room or kitchen ONLY." Lucas just rolled his eyes and walked out the door. Before he got too far he remembered that he had to ask his mom about Brooke.

"Hey Mom, um, I need a favor."

"Lucas, you cannot have the car. Walking home is not going to hurt either you or Jamie."

"No, that wasn't what I need a favor for. I was wondering if Brooke could stay with us for awhile. Her parents want her to move to California with them. And it would really mean a lot to Jamie and me if she stayed at least until the end of the school year." Karen just looked at her son. She had talked to the Davis' already. They had asked her because they knew how much Brooke wanted to stay in Tree Hill and they were actually going to move some of her things in later that night.

"Well, Lucas, I will have to think about it. Why don't you and Jamie go home and start some of the chores on the list that I left you."

"Mom, why?"

"Good-bye Lucas…do the chores or you won't be able to see Jamie for a week." With that Lucas walked out the door and towards Jamie.

"Sorry Jamers, we have to go do chores, mom's orders." Jamie looked at Lucas as though he was insane.

"You're kidding me right?"

"No Jamie, my mom told me that we should go home and start some of the chores on the list that she left me. If we don't do the chores I won't be able to see you for a week."

"Exactly, your list, it is NOT my list. You have to do the chores or YOU won't be able to see me for a week." Lucas knew Jamie had a point, but he figured he should at least try. "Yes, but if WE don't do the chores, then YOU will not see me for a week also." He looked at Jamie out of the corner of his eye and saw that she was not going to change her mind. "Please Jamie; I really don't want to do the chores by myself. Maybe if we do them together then…"

"Then what? We could have fun doing the chores? We both know that isn't what is going to happen. But I don't really like seeing you beg…so I guess I can help you out."

"You were going to help me al along weren't you?"

"Maybe I was…maybe I wasn't. But you will never know now." Jamie loved watching Lucas squirm. He was so cute when he felt uncomfortable. They made it back to Lucas' house with a better time than they did that morning. Maybe it was because it was getting extremely hot and they both wanted to be near a fan or maybe it was because they wanted some along time before Karen came home from the café. When they got to the house they noticed that there was a car sitting in front that neither really recognized. As they approached the house they noticed that there were a lot of suitcases in the back. "Is this Brooke's car Luke?"

"No, it isn't Brooke's. She has a silver bug, I think. Let's go in through my room." They walked to his room and walked in. They heard some people talking so Lucas grabbed the bat next to his bed.

"Do you always keep a bat next to your bed?" Jamie said with a slight chuckle.

"Well, yea…what if someone were to walk into my room in the middle of the night and try to abduct me? This is for protection."

"Well, maybe if you locked your doors at night you wouldn't need protection." They were still whispering as they made their way through the hallway. When they neared the guestroom they heard the voices getting louder. Lucas pushed the door open with the bat and walked in cautiously.

"What are you doing here?" Lucas called.

"I'm moving here Broody." A voice said from behind them. Both Lucas and Jamie jumped, but were excited when they recognized the voice as Brooke's.

"You're what?" Jamie asked astonished. "I thought you just asked your mom Luke?"

"I did just ask my mom. Brooke, I don't get it. How…why…when?"

"My parents asked your mom a couple days ago. I guess she was planning on surprising you today with me being here. We didn't expect you too be here so soon. Actually, I didn't even know that they were planning this, but what the hell. At least I get to stay until sum mer." Jamie and Brooke squealed and hugged each other. Lucas looked at the two girls and smiled. He was glad that they had become friends. He still had feelings for Brooke, but just as friends and he didn't want to see her leave. "So much for that alone time we were going to have James." Both girls laughed at Lucas. They talked the rest of the afternoon as they helped the Davis' unpack Brooke's belongings. Karen got home a little after 6:00 and after Brooke's parents left, the kids and Karen sat down for supper. After supper, the three kids sat around in Brooke's new room watching a movie and enjoying the time they could spend together.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

**1 month later**

"Well everyone, school is almost done which means that final projects are due soon. I am going to need each project b y the end of next week. I know that doesn't give you procrastinators a lot of time, but that is how much time I need to grade them. So, now back to Shakespeare…" Jamie couldn't concentrate on anything that Mr. Brandsman was saying. She just couldn't believe how time had flown by. One day she was walking down the street alone and unhappy and the next she was going out with Lucas Scott (her long time crush) and happy to be hanging out with a lot of friends. She also couldn't believe that she only had about a month and a half left of her junior year of high school.

"Psst…James…you are still my partner right."

"Of course Luke. Who else would I partner with? Tim? I don't think so."

"Okay…good. So where are we going to finish our documentary of Shakespeare?"

"Mr. Scott…I would think that you and Miss Bausch could talk…" Just as Mr. Brandsman was starting to yell at Lucas for talking in class the bell rang and everyone ran out.

"Okay, so anyway. Where are we going to finish? My house is a little full tonight, seeing as Brooke is having Felix over and my mom is having dinner with Keith tonight."

"We can have it at my house. My dad isn't going to be home, plus it is my video camera so it just makes sense to have it there." Lucas nodded his head in agreement. Lucas thought about asking her if her dad still hit her, but he had noticed that she had been coming to school with fewer bruises. Either her dad had stopped or she was doing a good job of covering them. They decided that they would meet at Jamie's locker after their last class and then head over to her house. When they got to Jamie's house they grabbed the ketchup and the cheetos and headed up to her room. They had finished the project sooner than either had expected and so they started goofing off with the camera when they heard the front door slam. Lucas put down the camera and walked over to the closet. Neither teen was expecting to get interrupted by anyone being at Jamie's house, not even her dad. Lucas gave Jamie a kiss and walked into the closet just as John walked into her room. It was at that second that he realized that he left his bag and sweatshirt on Jamie's bed.

"WHAT IS THIS SHIT?" John yelled. Jamie hadn't realized what he was talking about until she saw him pointing at the stuff on her bed.

"Um, I had to get a new backpack because my other one broke yesterday and then I spilled some grape juice on my shirt at school and a friend let me borrow a sweatshirt."

"YOU ARE A LYING LITTLE SLUT! I KNOW ALL ABOUT YOU AND YOUR BOYFRIEND. YOU HAVEN'T TOLD HIM ANYTHING HAVE YOU?" Jamie didn't know what to say and even if she did she couldn't say anything she was so scared.

"BECAUSE IF YOU DID…" he trailed off when he started hitting her. Lucas couldn't make out too much of what John was saying because he had to plug his ears so he wouldn't hear Jamie crying. It hurt him so much to hear her cry. After what seemed like an eternity he heard the door slam. He stuck his head out of the closet expecting to see Jamie slumped up against the door like she had been the first time, but instead he saw her lying on the floor not moving. He jumped out of the closet and ran for his bag. He grabbed his cell phone and started dialing.

"911…what's the emergency?" he heard the operator say.

"It's my girlfriend. She's on the floor of her bedroom and not moving. She's bleeding badly too." Lucas choked out.

"Where are you?" The operator sounded too calm for Lucas' sake, but he ignored it hoping they would get there sooner.

"1723 Apricot Street, in her bedroom at the top of the stairs."

"What happened?"

"Um…" Lucas knew he had promised Jamie not to tell anyone, but he also promised himself that he wouldn't lose another person.

"Sir, we are sending someone over, but you have to tell me what happened."

"Um, we were working on a project for school at my girlfriend's house. Her dad was supposed to be out of town, but he came back early and so I hid in the closet. When he came into her room he started yelling and then he started hitting her."

"Was this the first time that this has happened?"

"Um…no…"

"Okay, the ambulance will be there shortly. Would you like to stay on the phone until they do?"

"No." he said as he grabbed Jamie's hand. He sat there staring at the wall. He couldn't believe what was happening. He hadn't heard the ambulance or the cops pull up. He didn't even realize they were in the house until they ran into Jamie's room. One cop walked over to Lucas who had backed away at the EMT's request.

"Son, what happened here?"

"Um, her dad hit her." The cop looked shocked.

"Do you have any proof that it was her father?" Lucas looked shocked.

"Do you think I did this?" The cop just looked at him. "I could never hit her. I love her, the tape!" The cop looked confused. Lucas ran over and saw the record button was still on. He handed the tape to the cop and walked over to Jamie, they were just getting her on the stretcher. Lucas finally noticed how much blood there really was, but he couldn't and wouldn't let go of Jamie's hand. He couldn't help thinking it was his fault. He should have gone to the cops as soon as he found out. They weren't supposed to let people other than family members in the ambulance, but Lucas wouldn't let go. They started cleaning up the cuts and blood on her legs, arms, and face but they couldn't tell what else was wrong. When they got to the hospital they rushed Jamie into the ER. Lucas wanted to follow, but the cop that he had talked to stopped him from going in. Lucas leaned up against the wall and slid down. He couldn't believe why he was at the hospital. He kept picturing Jamie lying on the floor barely breathing. He had been pretty calm the entire time, but he couldn't take it anymore. He finally broke down and started crying. He was taken away from his thoughts when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up and saw Nathan and Haley standing over him. He was pretty confused because he didn't remember calling them. Maybe they saw the ambulance at Jamie's so they followed it over.

"Lucas, what are you doing here?" Haley asked. She hadn't seen Lucas cry in a couple years and this was scaring her.

"Um, Jamie is here." Lucas could barely get the words out. He just kept picturing her on the floor.

"Why is Jamie here?" Nathan asked breaking the silence.

"Um, her dad was um…hitting her." He couldn't believe how easy it was for him to tell people.

"Oh my gosh! Is she all right? Was it really bad?" Haley asked starting to cry.

"I don't know, we just got here a couple minutes ago. And she wasn't awake." Lucas couldn't hold the tears back for the second time. "Haley, I'm so scared. I should have done something. I was there, but I couldn't do anything. It was all my fault." Lucas cried into Haley's shoulder. Nathan knelt down next to his wife and brother.

"Lucas, there was nothing you could have done. If he knew you were there you could have gotten hurt too and then you would both still be laying on her floor. You probably saved her life." "NO, I SHOULD HAVE TOLD SOMEONE WHEN I FOUND OUT! BUT I WAS TOO STUPID! AND NOW LOOK AT HER!"

"What are you talking about Luke?"

"I've known that her dad hits her for a month. But she made me promise Haley." Neither Nathan nor Haley knew what to say so they just sat there trying to help Lucas feel better. After about an hour, Nathan got up to call Karen and tell her where Lucas was. He didn't want her to think that something was wrong. After he hung up with Karen he went and got some coffee.

"Here, you look like you need some caffeine. I, um, I called your mom and told her where you were. She said that she was coming.

"Thanks Nate. I appreciate it." About half an hour later Karen came running into the waiting room.

"Lucas how is she?" she asked pulling her son into a hug.

"I don't know. They are still in the operating room. They won't tell me anything." Karen already knew what happened because Nathan had told her on the phone. About 2 hours later Doctor Morris came out of the ER.

"Lucas Scott...how are you related to Jamie Bausch?"

"I'm her boyfriend."

"Are there any family members here?" Lucas shook his head.

"Okay, well she is stable now. We almost lost her, but she pulled herself through. She was in pretty bad shape. It almost looks like she was in a car accident."

"Well, she did get hit by a drunk." Nathan cut in. He saw Lucas let out a slight smile so he knew Lucas would be fine.

"Can we go in and see her?" Haley asked.

"Well, visiting hours are over, so I am going to have to say no. I'm sorry."

"Please let me see her. I need to have reassurance that she is fine." Lucas pleaded with the doctor.

"Actually, you are a different story. You are allowed to stay here with her because you are the closest family she has here. That and right when we thought we lost her she whispered your name." Lucas was surprised. "We were quite surprised too because she wasn't awake. She still isn't awake. So you can go in."

"Don't worry mom. I'll call you if something happens." He gave her a hug and then hugged Haley and Nathan. "Thanks guys I appreciate everything." Haley, Nathan, and Karen left after Karen told Lucas that she would call him in sick. Haley and Nathan promised they wouldn't say anything except to Jamie's close friends. Lucas walked into the hospital room. Jamie wasn't moving and she had tubes and needles going into her arms and nose (she wasn't even breathing on her own). Now he knew how his mom and friends felt when he was here. He also realized that she could hear everything that people say. He sat down in the chair next to her bed and picked up her hand. It was dark in the room, but he could still see some of the cuts and bruises on her face.

"Jamie…hey…it's me…Lucas." He choked out. "I am so sorry. It was stupid of me to hide in the closet. I should have just stood up to your dad. I blame myself for everything. I should never have promised you to not tell anyone. It was like I was agreeing with you that you deserved it. But you don't. You are the sweetest girl and you don't need that." He couldn't help crying again, but at least this time no one was around. He laid his head on the bed and soon fell asleep. He woke up to a beeping noise and a bunch of nurses and doctors running into the room. "What's going on Doctor Morris?" Doctor Morris looked up. He pulled Lucas off to the side.

"We are moving her to ICU. Her condition has worsened a little. Don't be too scared. She's a tough girl." They wheeled her out and Lucas went to find the coffee machine. When he finished the horrible drink he started walking to Jamie's room. He turned around when he heard his mom yelling to him.

"Mom, what are you doing here? I thought you were going to go to the café for a while."

"I was, but right before I left the phone rang. I thought it might be you, but it was the hospital. It's about Abby." Lucas' face dropped.

"Abby?"

"That is what I thought. They said that she was in ICU at Tree Hill Memorial Hospital." Lucas couldn't believe that Abby was back in Tree Hill. Whey didn't she call? But then he thought that she was probably driving somewhere and this was the nearest hospital. Karen came back from asking what room Abby was in. They walked to the intensive care unit and found her room. They walk in and see Jamie lying on the bed.

"Mom, this is Jamie. Are you sure it was room 112 and not room 212?"

"Yes Lucas, I am almost positive." Just as she was going to ask the receptionist Doctor Morris came in.

"I'm glad you are both here. Now I know you are really confused, but let me try and explain. This morning we had one of the nurses folding Jamie's clothes and this picture fell out of her pocket. It was a picture of Roger, Kelly, and Abigail Winters. I did some searching and found that Abigail Winters disappeared about 2 months ago. The same time that Jamie Bausch came to Tree Hill. I was then examining her and I found a very weird scar on her knee, in the same spot that Abby's scar. This is Abigail Winters." Lucas and Karen looked stunned.

"This can't be Abby. I knew her dad and that guy was not him." Lucas said.

"I know. Roger died 5 years ago. I got an obituary from the Independence Daily News. Abby moved in with Dana and John Sanchez. About 2 years later Dana was killed in a hit and run. And then John must have moved here with Abby or Jamie." Lucas couldn't believe it. "We are looking at fingerprints right now." The doctor walked out of the room for a second to just leave Karen and Lucas thinking. He came back 5 minutes later. "Well, the finger prints were a match to Abigail Winters." Lucas couldn't believe it. He had been dating Abby for the past 2 months. Why hadn't she told him? Karen and Lucas just sat in Abby's room. Neither knew what to say. They were cut from their thoughts when the door opened and Brooke, Felix, Peyton, Mouth, Anna, Haley, and Nathan walked in. The girls walked up and gave Lucas a big hug. They knew what really happened unlike the rest of the school. They thought she was in an accident. They still had to go back to school because it was lunch, but they needed to see Jamie. Right before they all left to go back to school Lucas pulled Haley off to the side.

"Okay, first…what were you and Nathan doing here last night?"

"Um, I had a doctor's appointment."

"For what?" Haley just shook her head. "Okay fine…second…maybe you should sit down." Haley sat and Lucas continued. "Jamie isn't really who she says she is."

"What are you talking about?"

"Jamie isn't Jamie. She's Abby."

"WHAT?"

"Shh…"

"Are you sure? How did you find out?"

"The doctor found out because she had a picture of Roger and Kelly in her pocket. And now I can see the resemblance."

"But you can't be sure. If it is Abby she would have told us."

"I know, that is why we have to find out why she didn't tell us when she wakes up."

"Wow, Abby is back! How exciting is this?" Haley couldn't contain her emotions while Lucas didn't seem as enthusiastic.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

**1 week later**

Lucas was sitting next to Abby on the bed. She still hadn't woken up, but she was stable again. The police had caught John Sanchez trying to get out of the state. He was now sitting in jail facing attempted murder. Lucas had tried to think of every possible reason as to why Jamie hadn't told him who she really was. He was too deep in thought when he felt a hand on his arm. He looked down to see Abby opening her eyes.

"Here, take a sip of water." She drank the water and then smiled at Lucas, but Lucas didn't look very happy. The next couple of hours were spent making sure that Abby was fine. Lucas walked in after the doctors approved and sat on the chair just looking blankly at Abby or Jamie (he couldn't decide).

"Hey babe, what's up?" Abby said looking a little nervous.

"Well Abby, I was just wondering if you felt up to talking?"

"What did you just call me? My name is…"

"QUIT LYING TO ME! I KNOW EVERYTHING."

"Please don't yell." Abby said trying to calm Lucas down.

"Fine. You lied to me Ja…Abby. You never wrote and then you make up a name. Let me guess, you set everything up to make it look like you got beat up. I understand why you didn't want me to tell now. Then you couldn't lie to me. I HATE you now. We are OVER!" Abby couldn't even talk before Lucas got up.

"Luke, don't walk away."

"Abby, I'm not walking…I'm running. Have a nice life."

"WHAT ABOUT ALL THOSE THINGS YOU TOLD ME. WAS IT A LIE?" Lucas turned around.

"I don't know Abby…you tell me. You know a thing or two about lying." With that he walked out and slammed the door. Abby couldn't believe he found out. That meant Karen and Haley probably knew. Hopefully they would at least listen to her story. Before too long Karen walked into the room. She had just come from the café.

"Hi, how are you feeling?" She asked. Abby noticed that her face was expressionless (which was probably not good).

"Um, I'm fine. Kind of stiff and sore and pretty tired."

"Abby?"

"Yea…" she said looking down.

"I can't believe it's you." Karen said with a smile. She walked over and gave Abby a huge hug. When she broke the embrace she stayed sitting on the bed. She didn't know what to say. She wanted to know everything, but she wanted to wait for Haley so Abby only had to explain it twice. A couple minutes later Haley ran in and over to Abby. She couldn't' believe it was really her.

"Oh my gosh, you are really you! I can't believe I didn't figure it out."

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you guys. I wanted to, more than anything, but I couldn't."

"Where's Lucas?" Haley asked looking around the room.

"Um, he ran out."

"Did you tell him everything?" Karen asked. Abby shook her head trying to hold back the tears. She explained what happened with Lucas and then started crying.

"I didn't mean for things to get that far with him. I was just going to be invisible, but it didn't work." Haley interrupted.

"I'm glad it didn't work. You're home now. Everything is going to be great."

"I wish it were true, but John will be back for me." Karen need to find out what happened. She knew this wasn't the same girl she knew 6 years ago. She was more fragile and not as outspoken.

"Abby, what happened?" Abby was a little caught off guard by the question.

"From when?"

"After you and your dad left."

"Okay, um, we moved to Independence, Wisconsin. A year later he killed himself. It was my fault because I couldn't help him forget about mom. Then I moved in with our neighbors, Dana and John Sanchez. Dana was an amazing person. She helped me deal with everything. She taught me to play softball. Two years later, she died in a car accident. Then John started hitting me. Then we moved here. I didn't know where I was at first. Then I met Lucas. He showed me what it felt like to be loved again. He was the first person in 3 years to tell me he loved me. But I screwed that up." She couldn't hold back the tears. "He saw John hitting me, but I made him promise not to tell anyone, because I didn't think anyone would believe me. I wanted to tell you guys, but John said that he would hurt Lucas and me if I told anyone. I was so scared. I didn't know what to do."

"Abby, it's okay. He will never touch you again. He's going to jail for a really long time." Karen said trying to comfort the girl she once saw as a daughter. There was a knock on the door and Nathan and the rest of the group walked in.

"Hey guys, I'd like to introduce you to Abby Winters." Haley said. She had told them about the things she knew and promised they would be filled in with details when Abby woke up.

"It is nice to meet you Abby." Brooke said. They all asked how she was feeling and asked her and Haley about their childhood. No one brought up Lucas, but they all wondered where he was. Karen got nervous when he didn't come home, but got a call from Haley saying that he was at their place. The next couple days were hectic with all the hospital and homework stuff. Plus she had to talk to a prosecutor about John. She found out that John was the drunk driver the night Dana died. She was nervous because that meant she would have to relieve that night and every night that he hit her. But she was really sad about Lucas. Everyone told her that he was going out with this girl that he met at a bar. When she got out of the hospital and was allowed to go back to school she always saw Lucas hanging out with a girl named Tara. Everyone said that she was a slut and Lucas was just confused. Whenever Lucas saw Jamie he ignored her and walked right by, but his girlfriend wasn't that nice. She always would walk by her and either glare or push her into a locker. It made Abby sad and mad because Lucas didn't even stop Tara. He would just walk away and start "talking" to someone else. This went on for the rest of the school year. Even though Lucas was being a jerk, the rest of the gang forgave and forgot. Abby still loved hanging out everyday after school or work, but they always ran into Lucas and Tara. Abby would try and talk to him, trying to explain, but he would just walk away and Tara would always step in between them. One day when they were down at the River court, Lucas and Tara walked up and she started making trouble.

"Well, well, well…what do we have here? It seems like they let anyone on the courts these days Lukie." Abby grimaced. She had always called Lucas that and it made her sick that she was the reason she lost him. She blamed herself everyday for losing Lucas. She wished that she could turn back time, but something that Lucas had said in the hospital was bugging her. 'You never wrote!' What was he talking about? She had written him almost everyday for 3 months. And then after her father died she wrote to him again. She figured they would have at least have come to the funeral service. She decided to stop writing the day she got a letter from Lucas telling her how mad he was at her for not telling him that she was moving. It was at that moment that she had to learn how to move on and help herself forget everything. She couldn't believe Lucas. He told her he loved her and then not even 24 hours they broke up, he picked up Tara.

"What the hell are you just standing there for? Why don't you move your fat ass out of my way?" Tara said interrupting Jamie's thoughts. Lucas just looked away. Nathan couldn't stand it anymore. He was getting pissed at Lucas for being such a jerk. Yes, Abby had lied to him, but she was protecting herself.

"Lucas, what the hell? What is your problem?" Lucas looked at Nathan.

"What? I didn't say anything."

"No, you didn't. That's the problem."

"Whatever Nate. Let's go Tara."

"LUCAS!" Nathan yelled, but he got no response. He wanted to get Lucas back to his old self. He hated seeing his brother hurting. He looked over at Abby who had tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Abby what's wrong?" Nathan and Abby had gotten pretty close over the past couple weeks. Nathan and Haley told her why they were really at the hospital that night. She was the first to know that Haley was pregnant and had been for a month and a half. Abby was really surprised, but still really happy for them.

"Why is he doing this? I don't understand. He wouldn't and still won't let me explain anything." Abby said choking back tears.

"Listen Abs, Luke is just confused and a little hurt. He'll be back to his old self soon."

"I hope so, I really miss him. And I still love him." Nathan could tell how much she meant what she said. Even after everything that Lucas had said and done she still loved him.

"Well, we better get you to the café. We don't want you to be late for your first day back to work." Abby looked at Nathan with a slight smile. She was really surprised that Karen would be worried about Lucas seeing her. She knew what happened between her and Lucas and she was still amazingly kind and loving toward her. When she got to the café, she walked in and punched in. She loved the café now that everyone knew who she was. She remembered quite a few people she recognized from before she left, but she also met a lot of people. When she walked out she was greeted by Karen telling her to go wait on a table in the back. She walked up to the couple at the back table.

"Are you ready to order?" Abby asked with a smile on her face.

"Um, yea, can I have a…" the voice trailed off. Abby looked up to see what the problem was. That is when she noticed that Lucas and Tara were the couple.

"God, are you stalking us? You are always around and looking for Lucas. Maybe you shouldn't have been such a…"

"Hello hunny, I didn't know it was you back here." Karen said interrupting Tara. She had never met Tara, but she didn't like what she had heard from Haley.

"Hey Mom, I'm sorry. I thought you saw us walk in." Lucas couldn't even look up at his mom.

"Well, aren't you going to introduce us to your new friend?" Lucas didn't really want to, but his mom had already embarrassed him.

"Sorry, this is Tara. Tara, this is my mom." Abby really felt out of place, but Karen wouldn't let her leave. She could feel Karen's hand on her back trying to steady her. Abby was deep in thought about everything when Karen interrupted her thoughts.

"It is nice to meet you Tara. You should come over for a supper sometime this week. We are having Luke's favorite dish tomorrow." Lucas and Abby both shot their eyes toward Karen. They couldn't believe how she was handling this.

"Nice to meet you also Mrs…"

"Miss Roe…" This also surprised Lucas and Abby. She never let anyone call her Miss Roe. Abby remembered the first time she had met Karen…well, the first time in 6 years.

"I will have to talk to Lukie about tomorrow night." Tara said as she tried to grab Lucas' hand, which he quickly moved.

"All right, I hope to see you two tomorrow evening." With that Karen left leaving the three kids sitting in silence.

"So, um, what can I get for you?" Abby said breaking the uncomfortable silence.

"Luke, let's just go. I'm not very hungry. I think I just lost my appetite." Luke looked at Tara and shook his head.

"Can I get a coffee and 2 bagels and cream cheese to go?"

"I'll be right back with that." As Abby walked away she heard Tara yelling at Lucas. She hated the way Tara treated Lucas, but she was mad at Lucas for just using Tara to make her jealous. As she started walking back to the table a man that looked familiar walked up to her.

"Miss Winters"

"Mr. Leamon, how are you?"

"I'm fine Miss Winters, but I really need to talk to you. It is urgent." Abby was kind of nervous. She was praying that he wasn't there to tell her that John was out.

"Um, okay give me a couple of minutes to finish something. If you want to sit down at that booth I'll grab a cup of coffee for you…on me."

"Thank you" Lucas had overheard the most of the conversation, but he felt weird asking Abby who it was. When Abby walked over she handed the cup and bag to Lucas and started walking away.

"Hey, what about the money?" Tara called back.

"Go pay at the register like everyone else." Lucas was surprised that Abby had said that. He let out a slight smile when he realized the old Abby was starting to shine through. He got up and walked over to the register where his mom was. He paid and walked out. While Abby was in the back getting coffee, Nate walked up behind her.

"Hey Shorty…what's up?" Abby was a little startled, but she was happy to see him.

"Um, Mr. Leamon is here. He said he needs to talk to me. He said it was urgent. I'm so nervous, I keep spilling the coffee. I don't want to talk to him. Plus, I had a run in with Lucas and the devil." Nathan laughed at how she explained Tara.

"Okay, how about I pour and carry the coffee and then I will sit there with you." Abby shook her heard and gave Nathan the cup. The finally got to the booth where Mr. Leamon was sitting.

"Mr. Scott, it's nice to see you again."

"Nice to see you again also" Nathan knew Mr. Leamon from when he emancipated himself.

"Okay, so I just got a call from Wisconsin. They want to push up the date of the trial. Now I know this is going to be hard for you, but you are going to have to talk about everything that has happened. Now that I have said that, we need to talk about what you are going to do about living." Abby and Nate looked at him curiously. "I'm sorry, that was odd. Um, you are now part of the state of Wisconsin."

"WHAT? That can't be, I live here now."

"That is true, but you have always been a part of the state of Wisconsin since your father died. John had lied and said that they were your family. But we have checked and found that both your parents were only children and both their parent were only children and since they are all deceased, you have no relatives." Abby knew all that, but she was stunned to learn that she had been a part of the state of Wisconsin for 3 years.

"So what does that all mean?" Nate had been quiet through the entire conversation.

"Well, Mr. Scott, it means that Miss Winters must go back to Wisconsin. They will put her in a foster home until she is 18. When she is of legal age she can decide what to do. I know you are thinking about emancipation, but it doesn't work that way with state cases." Nate couldn't believe what he was hearing. Abby had just come back and Haley was so happy and relieved. He didn't want to see Haley or Lucas' faces when they found out.

"I'm sorry, but I can't do anything about this. The trial is in 2 weeks and you have to go back to Wisconsin in 3 days. I know that isn't a lot of time, but it is an order by the state." Abby couldn't believe it. She didn't want to go back to Wisconsin. She missed Andrea and all, but Tree Hill was her home. "I'm sorry again Abby. There will be a car at Nathan's apartment at 4:00 pm to pick you up in 3 days. See you then." Mr. Leamon got up, reached in his pocket and pulled out a 5 dollar bill. "Keep the change." With that he walked out of the café. Abby couldn't take it anymore. She ran through the café and didn't stop when she heard Nathan yell her name, she also heard Karen tell him to let her go. She didn't know where she was going, but she had to run somewhere. She ran past the River court where Lucas and Tara were hanging out. She noticed Lucas shooting around and Tara was talking on her cell phone. Tara glanced up just in time to see Abby run past.

"Geez, what a freak!" Lucas shot Tara a glare and then when back to shooting around.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

After what seemed like an eternity Abby stopped running. She looked around and saw she had run to the cemetery. She couldn't believe she had ended up here. She walked over to her mother's grave and sat down right next to it. She had not visited the cemetery since the day she left for Wisconsin. She had thought about it, but it was too hard for her. She figured that Karen had been there once in a while to keep up the appearance of the stone. She remembered listening to her dad talking to the headstone people.

"A wonderful mother, wife, and friend lay here. May she rest in God's eternal peace." There was also a picture of their family on the headstone. It had been the last picture they had taken. When she went to go look at her grandparents' graves she noticed something on the back. "'To live in the hearts of those we leave behind is not to die.' Thomas Campbell 'I will always miss and love you Kel. Love Kare'" This brought Abby to tears. She couldn't believe everything that had gone wrong in her life. She began to get mad at everyone that had left.

"IS THIS YOUR PLAN FOR ME GOD? YOU TOOK AWAY MY MOM, MY DAD, AND DANA! AND NOW THAT I FOUND KAREN, HALEY, AND NATE YOU WANT ME TO LEAVE AGAIN? I DON'T GET IT…LUCAS HATES ME AND WON'T EVEN LISTEN TO ME. I HAVE NOTHING ANYMORE! IT'S NOT FAIR!" She stopped to catch her breath. "WHY DID YOU HAVE TO LEAVE ME MOM? I NEEDED YOU, DAD NEEDED YOU. AT LEAST DAD FOUND A WAY TO BE WITH YOU AGAIN…" Abby trailed off. She couldn't believe she was even thinking about this. She had always heard that suicide was a sin, but she couldn't help thinking that it would solve a lot of problems. She grabbed her bag and found a pen and a piece of paper. She began writing and soon found how easy it was. She had told everyone how much they meant to her, but she couldn't control her life anymore. She knew that she would miss them, but at least this way she could 'stay' in Tree Hill with her mom and family. She had written a page and then decided to write a letter to Lucas. She folded the notes and laid them on the ground. "I'll see you soon mom and dad. Goodbye Tree Hill, I'll miss everyone." With that she took out her dad's old pocket knife and started to cut a small slit on her left wrist. She felt the pain and then felt blood start to trickle down her arm slowly. It hurt so much, but she knew all the pain would be gone soon. She felt tired and closed her eyes. Lucas had just left the River court and started towards home. He had been thinking a lot about Abby. He was still mad at her, but he was surprised and happy to see the old Abby at the café. He wished he knew what that guy wanted earlier, but whatever it was probably was good for Abby. Lucas decided to take the route through the cemetery to clear his head. He needed to tell his mom that Tara would not be coming over for dinner. As he was walking through he noticed a lump leaning against a headstone. He walked over to the person. As he got closer, he noticed the sweatshirt that he had given Abby.

"Abby…" he yelled. There was no answer from the still figure. "ABBY!" He yelled again, but she didn't even move. He couldn't see anything but he knew that something was wrong. He started running towards Abby. He was mad, but he didn't want anything to happen to her. When he got to her he noticed the small slit on her wrist and the pool of blood that was still forming. He grabbed her wrist and wrapped it with the sweatshirt he was wearing. Memories came flooding back to him as he looked at the girl laying unconscious in his arms, but he didn't have time for that trip down memory lane. "Abby…Abby…please wake up. I need you to open your eyes for me." Lucas pleaded with her. All of a sudden Abby opened her eyes.

"Luke…I love you." She said as she slipped back into unconsciousness.

"ABIGAIL WINTERS! DON'T GO AWAY! I DON'T WANT YOU TO LEAVE! HOLD ON BABY!" He knew there wasn't a lot of time so he ran to the church with Abby in his arms. He knocked on Father Opitz's door. When it opened, Father Opitz saw Lucas standing there and without saying a word he grabbed his keys and they ran to his car. Once they got in Father Opitz broke the silence.

"Lucas, what happened?"

"I was walking home and I went through the cemetery." Lucas stopped for a second and then continued. "I saw my sweatshirt and then saw her leaning against Kelly's headstone. When I got closer I saw that she wasn't moving and her wrist was bleeding."

"Well, don't worry…she's going to be fine." He said trying to comfort the boy. They sat in silence the rest of the way. When they got to the hospital Father Opitz grabbed Abby from Lucas and ran into the hospital. When things finally settled down Father Opitz was asked what happened. He looked all around, but Lucas was nowhere to be found. So he told them the things that Lucas had told him. They got Abby into the emergency room and started stitching up the slit and putting blood back into her system. Abby was very lucky she hadn't lost as much as she could have because the cut was smaller than most. Father Opitz decided that he would call Karen. After he explained everything he knew he called Nathan and Haley. All three were soon at the hospital waiting for new on Abby's condition. Father Opitz decided that he wasn't needed at the hospital anymore, so he drove back to the church. As he was walking into his house he remembered Lucas had told him where he found Abby. So he walked through the cemetery to Kelly's grave. When he got closer he saw a boy standing near the grave holding a backpack.

"Excuse me…" he said walking closer. As he approached the boy he noticed it was Lucas.

"I was hoping to come back here and find some proof that someone did this to her, and I was right. I did it. It was my fault that she tried to commit suicide. She said that she couldn't stand knowing that she was the reason that we broke up. This way she wouldn't have to move to Wisconsin and live with another family. She said she wouldn't have to leave Tree Hill ever again. And she would be with her parents."

"Lucas, it isn't your fault. She didn't die either. You saved her life, you helped her."

"YEA, BUT I AM ALSO THE REASON!" Lucas started crying. If he hadn't been such a jerk and stubborn Abby wouldn't be in the hospital fighting for her life for the second time in a moth. Then he remembered something she had said. 'Luke...I love you." Her voice kept ringing in his ear. He looked down and saw another piece of paper under a little rock. He picked it up and saw his name written on it. He sank to the ground as he read it.

"My dearest Lucas,

I know you are mad at me for lying to you about who I was, but I don't think I would change that. You saw what John was capable of and he threatened to hurt you if anyone found out. I couldn't let him touch you. I didn't want you to get hurt. I am sorry for all the trouble I have caused you, your mom, and your friends. You won't have to worry about me anymore. You are the reason that I have lived as long as I have. I always thought that I had nothing and then I thought of you and Haley. You got me through 3 deaths and a horrible move without even talking to me. I will NEVER forget you and I pray that you will NEVER forget me. You were my first friend, first crush, and most importantly my first true love. You were my first and my last. I LOVE you so much. Never forget that Lucas. I only want one more thing from you…and that is forgiveness. I cannot leave this world without at least asking for it. I love you now and forever. I hope you can find it somewhere in your heart to forgive me. Goodbye Lucas, I will see you again someday.

Loving you always,

Abby Winters"

That was why she hadn't told him. She was afraid of him. Lucas couldn't believe the note. He grew angry at himself that he left the hospital.

"Father, can I borrow you car? I will bring it back tomorrow morning, I promise."

"Whenever you are done with it you can bring it back." He said as he handed Lucas the keys. "Be careful Lucas."

"I will, thank you Father." He ran to the car and sped away. He made it to the hospital in record time. When he got to the hospital he ran to the receptionist. "Abby Winters" he said trying to catch his breath.

"Room 312" Lucas was too impatient to wait for the elevators, so he sprinted up three flights of stairs. He dodged people and carts trying to find Abby's room. When he found the room, he stopped outside to catch his breath and compose himself. After 5 minutes he had finally gathered up enough strength to go in. When he went in he saw his mom and Haley sitting on each side of the bed with tears running down their faces and Nathan standing in the corner trying to keep busy so he wouldn't cry. Lucas cleared his throat.

"Lucas!" Karen ran over to her son and gave him a hug. Before anyone could say anything Lucas handed his mom Abby's suicide note. After Karen was done she handed the note to Haley and Nathan. When Nathan was finished he walked up to Lucas and punched him in the face. Neither Karen nor Haley were surprised at Nathan's reaction. Nathan walked to the bathroom and grabbed a wet towel. He walked back out to his brother and handed him the towel.

"That is for being such a bastard to Abby lately." Lucas wasn't even mad at Nathan. He knew that he had that coming, but he didn't expect Nathan to hug him afterwards. "Abby needs you Luke. Don't screw it up again." Nathan whispered to his brother. Lucas looked past all of them.

"Don't worry, I won't lose her again." He walked over to the bed and sat down. Karen, Haley, and Nate decided that they would leave them alone. Lucas didn't know if she could hear him, but he needed to tell her. "Abs," he began as he picked up her hand. "Abby, it's me, Lucas. I am so sorry for everything. It was stupid of me to not listen. But I was frustrated because I told you, well Jamie, that I loved you. I have been mad at myself since I found out that you were really you because I haven't told you how I really feel. I've been avoiding you. I'm sorry. I want to worry about you. I want you to piss me off, I want you to know how much I care, I want you to know that I DO forgive you. And I will NEVER forget how much you love me because you will always be with me to remind me. Um, I grabbed your backpack. I thought you might want your CDs when you wake up. I put one in on the way over here. I remember you said it was your favorite and so I thought I would listen to it. Now I know what made you so strong when John hit you and when I was being such a jerk. I brought it in thinking that I could play you a song." Lucas pulled out the CD player and CD. He went through the CD until he came to track 8. The music started and Lucas just watched Abby.

"_So easily I fall, so easily you reach your hand out. So quickly will I drown, in all the pools of all my reason. So easily will I fear, so easily will your peace surpass me. So quickly will I trust, in anything I think is worthy. How many times you make the waves calm down, so I won't be afraid now. I say you're breaking my, breaking my fall. What am I suppose to do? How precious are your thoughts the way that you think about me? How faithful are your ways? I always feel your grace abounding. How quickly will I call? How quickly will you answer my cry? How carefully will you bring everything I need in my life? This narrow road I'm walking, this world will I try to draw. Your work will help me fight it. With you I'll face it all."_ _(Breaking My Fall, Jeremy Camp)_ The song played quietly through the room. When it ended Lucas couldn't control himself anymore. He sat in the chair, put his head on the bed and started crying.

"I'm sorry Abby, I'm so sorry." He must have fallen asleep because hours had flown by. He looked at Abby, who was still motionless except for the tiny movements of her chest telling him that she was still alive.

"Mr. Scott?" Lucas looked up. "Hello, my name is Nurse Betty."

"I know, you were my nurse after the accident."

"Yes, that was me. Well, if you will excuse me I have to change Miss Winters' bandage." Lucas got up, ready to leave the room. "Oh, you can stay in here. I just need to get to her wrist."

"Oh, I guess I just keep thinking that it is worse." Nurse Betty just shook her head and continued with the bandage.

"Okay, all finished. If you need anything at all just push this button. I will be here as quickly as I can. And if she wakes up hit the button twice. Oh and Lucas, you did the right thing. You saved her life. A few more minutes and she would have been beyond saving." With that Nurse Betty walked out of the room.

"Abby, please wake up. We really need to talk. Please Abs, you know I HATE begging, but if that is what it takes I will. Please Abby just open your eyes DAMNIT!" Lucas yelled in frustration.

"Lucas Scott! Watch your mouth and keep your voice down." Lucas looked up and saw his mom and Deb standing in the door.

"Sorry mom, I'm just so mad. And…"

"Your girlfriend came by this morning. She was looking for you." Luke rolled his eyes.

"Great!"

"Lucas that is no way to talk about your girlfriend."

"She's not really my girlfriend. Actually, I don't even like her. The night I broke up with Abby, I met her at a bar." Karen fidgeted in her chair. "I know, I'm sorry, but I was so mad and confused. Anyway, we got drunk and started making out. Those first two weeks it was fun, but then it got really old. I told her we weren't going out, but she never went away. Finally, I was sick of her always ripping on Abby so I told her that we wouldn't even be friends if she kept talking about her like that. So she left me at the River Court last night. Thankfully I didn't have my car or I wouldn't have gone through the cemetery." Tears started to slide down Lucas' cheeks. "I keep thinking about what would have happened if I hadn't told Tara to go home. Abby would have died and it would have been my fault." Deb had been quiet through this whole thing, but she couldn't anymore.

"Lucas, you did not slit her wrist. You would not have known if she was there. You were lucky to have found her."

"That isn't what I meant. Well, okay, actually it was." Karen knew her son felt bad, but she was scared that if Abby didn't wake up soon that he might do something stupid. As if her many prayers had been answered, she saw a hand moving to grab Lucas' hand.

"Mom!" Lucas said when he felt Abby's hand move. Karen was excited because she saw the sparkle that had been missing for the past month. "Abby, Abby, wake up. Open your eyes." Lucas said as he grabbed her hand. He couldn't stand it, her hand was moving and her breathing was becoming more regular, but she still wasn't opening her eyes. Finally after what felt like an eternity, Lucas, Karen, and Deb saw Abby open her eyes. Abby looked around with a confused look evident on her face.

"Where am I?"

"You are in Tree Hill Abs." She was startled to hear the kindness in his voice. She didn't know if she was dreaming or dead.

"Lucas?" He shook his head.

"You're okay baby. You are going to be fine. I'm here for you."

"You mean I'm not dead or dreaming?"

"No Abby, you aren't dreaming and thankfully not dead. Lucas found you and brought you here." Karen said with tears filling her eyes. She still didn't understand why Abby had tried to kill herself. She had read the note about 100 times in the past 24 hours, but she was still confused. By this time Nurse Betty arrived in the room and began making sure that Abby was okay. Before she left the room she pulled Karen off to the side.

"Miss Roe, I think that it will be in Abby's best interest to stay here one more day. We will be able to make sure she is strong and we will be able to provide a psychiatrist for her. Tree Hill Memorial has a…" Karen stopped her.

"You think she needs a shrink?" The nurse just looked at her.

"It is common for people who try and kill themselves to have to talk to someone." Karen wasn't sounding convinced.

"I say that we let her decide. Maybe she just needs to talk to the one person she has needed to talk to for a month."

"Okay, it is your decision." With that Nurse Betty left the room.

"So when do I talk to the shrinks?" Karen was caught off guard.

"Do you want to?"

"Well, no, not really. I just remember my dad had to the first time he tried and then I had to after…" Karen hadn't known that Roger had tried before he succeeded.

"I don't think you need to talk to a shrink, but I do think you need to talk to someone." Abby knew where this conversation was going, but she decided to change the subject.

"Lucas, what happened to your eye?" She had just noticed it.

"Um, Nate punched me last night after I came back with your note." Deb and Abby both looked surprised. "He said that it was for the way that I treated you. Which wasn't very good, I deserved it. I'm sorry Abs."

"Nate punched you for me?" Lucas shook his head. "How sweet!" Lucas let out a sigh of relieve. He was afraid that she would be mad.

"So, um, Abby are you up for talking?" Karen asked still wanting to know the details.

"Are you going to yell?"

"No, why would you ask that?"

"Because last time Luke asked that he yelled at me." Lucas turned a couple shades of red after Abby's comment.

"Well, no one will yell at you sweetie." Abby was really beginning to like Deb. She was always nice to her after they met at the café and ever since the accident with John she had helped her out immensely. Abby took a deep breath and began the events.

"Well, Mr. Leamon said they moved up the trial date, which is fine, but then he said that I am part of the state of Wisconsin now. He said that they are looking for a foster home for me. And that scared me…A LOT. It scared me because I just got home to Tree Hill, I feel like I belong here and I don't want to leave. I am afraid that if I leave we won't stay in touch again." She paused and saw Lucas start to say something. "I did write Lucas, I wrote every day for 3 months without a reply. And then I wrote for a couple weeks after my dad died. It hurt when you guys didn't come to the funeral. But what hurt worse was the letter I got from you telling me how mad you still were. I now know that John actually wrote the letter and took all the ones that we wrote to each other. Then I got scared that I would end up in another family with someone like John. I just don't want to leave Tree Hill."

"So, you…" Karen began but couldn't finish.

"So after everything with Mr. Leamon I ran and ended up in the cemetery. I was just tired of everything. Plus, I miss my parents and Dana so much. I should have died in that accident. I didn't have as much as Dana did. She was pregnant when she died. She had just told John and me the day before. They had wanted a baby the entire time I lived with them. And then she died and I blamed myself. She wouldn't have died if it wasn't for my softball game. I have also wanted to see my mom and dad for five years. Everyone at my school had two parents and I always felt left out. When I got to the cemetery I saw mom's grave and it just hurt so much. It had been the first time I saw it in six years. I was hurting and mad and if I left Tree Hill there was nothing for me. I don't want to leave and I figured I couldn't if I was dead. And then I could see my parents again." Lucas felt bad. He was the reason; he knew that, even if she never said it. As if she was reading his mind.

"Luke, please don't think that it was your fault. I'm a little screwed up at times. But it was NOT YOUR fault."

"Abs, it was my fault. Maybe I didn't contribute to the part about your parents, but I did push away from you and at a time when you needed me."

"I still need you" Abby said with a slight smile. Deb and Karen had decided to exit the conversation. They both knew that Lucas and Abby had to talk.

"Abs, I'm sorry for everything. I was a jackass. You didn't deserve anything that I did or anything that Tara said. I…um, I got the letter you wrote to me." He paused trying to control himself. "Abs, I'm sorry. I should have listened to you or at least heard you out. But I was frustrated with everything. I wanted to tell you how much I missed you and how much I loved you, but I couldn't. I understand why you didn't tell anyone and I guess that I am glad you didn't. But don't ever think that you caused trouble by coming. I want to have to worry about you. It makes me feel like I'm doing something with my life. I am not going to forgive you." Abby's smile faded. "I am not going to forgive you because you do not need my forgiveness. I was the jerk and I need you to forgive me."

"Lucas…"

"Just forgive me so we can continue talking."

"Fine, I forgive you for being a jerk." Lucas just smiled.

"Good, now back to the letter. You're last line was right, but I think that you underestimated when we would see each other again." This made Abby happy. She was glad that Lucas could actually joke about this.

"Do you think I need a shrink?" Lucas shook his head.

"No, I think you needed me to realize that I was being a stupid jerk." They sat there just staring at each other.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

"Abby, you're awake! No one told us!" Haley said glaring at Lucas. Nathan and her had just walked into the room and saw Lucas and Abby talking.

"I'm sorry, just don't punch me again Nate. You punch hard."

"Well, you deserved it." Nate said smiling at Abby.

"Yea, thanks Nate. I wish I could have."

"Glad to see you are feeling better."

"Yea, I am. I just wish I could leave right now." Nurse Betty walked in as Abby was saying this.

"Well, you can. All I need you to do is have a parent or a guardian sign this release form."

"Well, I guess I'll never be able to leave." Nurse Betty looked confused. "My parents are dead and my guardian of the past three years is in jail…in Wisconsin."

"I am so sorry Miss Winters. I had no idea."

"Don't worry. Can I just sign the papers?"

"Sure, why not."

So Abby signed the papers and was given the clothes she had been wearing the night she was admitted. When she looked at the clothes she noticed how much blood was actually on them. Lucas also noticed.

"Here is your sweatshirt, well the one I gave you. And here…" he said as he began taking his sweats off.

"God Lucas would you keep your pants on, Abby isn't even out of the hospital yet."

"You are real funny Nate, but I have a pair of shorts on and I don't want Abs to have to wear blood-stained clothes." Nathan just smiled. It was good to talk to his brother like this again and it was even better to see both Lucas and Abby smile again. As soon as she was done getting dressed Nurse Betty brought in a wheelchair. She hopped in for a second time, but now Lucas was pushing her out the front doors of Tree Hill Memorial Hospital. Lucas walked over to Father Opitz's car and helped Abby in.

"So, um, what about your girlfriend Luke?" Lucas looked at Abby.

"Look Abs, I am sorry for Tara. I didn't know she could or would be so mean to you. I didn't ask her too, she just felt threatened by you."

"Why? You made it clear that you didn't want anything to do with me." Lucas' eyes fell.

"Abby, that isn't true. I went out with Tara to try and get my mind off of you. But nothing helped. Every time Tara and I were alone I kept thinking and talking about you. One night I woke myself up saying your name." They sat in silence just holding hands. Neither one had felt more complete in a month. They finally made it to the church. They got out and started walking to the house. When they got to the door, Father Opitz opened it up and gave Abby a hug.

"Now this is more like it. Abby Winters and Lucas Scott back together again. I'm glad you're okay Abby." Abby smiled.

"Me too"

"Would you guys like to come in for a bit? I mean before Church?"

"No thank you Father, Haley and Nate are waiting to drive us to Karen's. We'll have to take a rain check."

"All right, you two behave."

"We will. Thanks again for the car last night."

Father Opitz smiled as the two climbed into Nathan's car. He knew that Abby was finally safe from everything. All she needed was that one person to remember how much he loved her. He walked over to Kelly's grave and sat down. He had been thinking of ways to get Abby to stay in Tree Hill, but so far had been unsuccessful.

"Well Kelly, Abby has turned into quite a woman. You and Roger should be proud of how you raised her. Don't worry about her, I know what she tried to do, but she is going to be fine now. I finally saw the famous Abigail Winters smile. She hasn't had that smile for a long time." He grabbed a handkerchief from his pocket and started wiping the blood from the headstone.

"Those are hell to clean." Opitz turned around to see Whitey Durham standing by his wife's headstone.

"Coach, it's good to see you out here. I haven't had the privilege of talking to you lately." Whitey walked over.

"I remember the first time that you told me that you were becoming a priest. You were so upset about a girl and for the longest time I had no idea who it was. But not too long ago I realized it was Kelly Winters. Well, at that time it was Kelly Suzda right?"

"Yes, I had a crush on her and then I found out that her and Roger were a couple. So I figured it was my calling."

"Do you know who I think Kelly looks like?" Opitz shook his head. "Deb Scott"

"Yea, I guess I could see the resemblance."


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

Deb and Karen sat at the counter thinking of ways that Abby could stay in Tree Hill.

"Maybe I could adopt her." Deb said.

"Deb, how are they going to see the emancipation and everything with Dan?" Karen was right. No judge in his or her right mind would give a child to a mother whose own son divorced her. A couple minutes later Haley, Nathan, Lucas, and Abby walked in.

"Abby what are you doing? I thought they wanted to keep you in another night?" Karen asked surprised.

"Yea, I know. I guess they figured there was no point if I wouldn't talk to a shrink."

"Well, you should go and rest. You probably haven't slept too much lately."

"I am pretty tired."

"C'mon Abby, I'll take you to our apartment. I'm pretty tired too." Haley said grabbing Abby's good wrist.

"Okay…fine. I'll see you later tonight Lucas. Go have fun, oh, and talk to Tara."

"But…"  
"Lucas…" Abby's stern voice told him that he would be in a lot of trouble if he didn't.

"Fine…I'll see you around 7:30."

"Why don't you all come here around 8 and we will have a nice supper." They all agreed and Haley and Abby went back to the apartment and fell asleep. Abby was happy to be alive and really tired, but she felt weird and sad about her parents and leaving. She had a restless sleep, but she figured she should at least try. About three hours later Abby was woken up by a noise coming from the bathroom.

"Hales, are you okay?" Haley came out of the bathroom.

"Yea, but they really need to change the term 'morning sickness'. It doesn't always just happen in the morning." They both laughed. "So, did you sleep okay Abby?"

"Truthfully, I couldn't get to sleep and then when I did it was kind of restless. It was like I wasn't tired, but I felt tired." Haley nodded in agreement. "So are you really okay?" Haley nodded again.

"I'm gonna call Nate and find out what is happening right now. The guys aren't supposed to be back for another two hours." Haley said picking up her cell and dialing her husband's number.

"Hello…Haley what's wrong?" Nate asked sounding frightened.

"Nothing is wrong Nathan. I was just wondering what you and Lucas were up to. Abby and I both woke up and can't fall back asleep." She heard Nathan breathe a sigh of relief.

"Um, we are down at the River court with some of the guys. Do you want us to come to the apartment?"

"No, we'll be fine…waiting for you." After she hung the phone up she turned to Abby. "Come on…let's go down to the court. Nate said that the guys are all there." The hopped into Haley's car and drove down to the court.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

"Abby?"

"Hey Brooke…I didn't know that you were still here!"

"Yea, I leave tomorrow night. I'm so glad you are okay. I heard what happened. I'm sorry I didn't come to the hospital. I had to…"

"Don't worry about it. I'm not there anyway."

"Yea, that's what Lucas said. Well, I'm glad you're okay. I don't know what I would do without my paper doll." She said with a smirk. By this time the guys had stopped playing and made their way over. Lucas hadn't mentioned anything about the other night. It still hurt him too much to think about it. After all the hello's Lucas pulled her aside.

"Abs, what are you doing? You should be sleeping. Nate and I were going to be coming in like two hours."

"I know Luke, but I woke up and I wasn't tired." Lucas just looked at her. "Did you talk to Tara?"

"Yea, I did. She was mad at you."

"Of course"

"Yea, but she slapped me instead. Because I told her it wasn't your fault, it was mine. I realized that I needed you." Abby smiled and Lucas reached down to kiss her.

"Hey come on; let's finish the game before you have to go…" Skills yelled.

"Yea, you two can get a room and make-up later tonight." Fergie said. Lucas ran over to the court and continued the game with the guys. He was happy to be talking to them again. It felt right and they were happy that Lucas finally talked it out with Abby. Abby walked over to Mouth, Haley, Brooke, and Felix. She was really going to miss sitting and watching the guys play basketball while she talked with the ones who didn't play. After about an hour and a half the guys were finally done playing only because they all had to go. They said their good-byes and Haley, Abby, Lucas, and Nate went to go get ready for dinner.

"Oh, yea…um…guys, this isn't just a dinner at the café. It is kind of a going away party for Brooke. Everyone is going to be there, except Brooke and then Karen is going to call her and ask her to bring something over."

"Well, thanks for telling us Hales. It's a good thing we got her a going away present." Lucas said sarcastically.

"Well, I kind of forgot with everything that has happened lately." Lucas had almost forgotten everything that had happened the past week.

"It's not really just a party for Brooke though, Abby…" Nate trailed off. Abby looked like she was going to kill him.

"Nathan, what are you talking about?"

"Um, nothing Hales."

"Nathan Scott, you are a bad liar. Now what were you saying?" Haley looked over at Abby and Lucas. "Do you guys know what he is talking about?"

"I don't, do you know Abs?" Abby knew that her cover was blown so she decided the truth would be the next best thing.

"Yea, I know what the big mouth over there is talking about." She paused and saw Lucas and Haley staring at her intently. "He was talking about me. I have to leave Tree Hill in a couple days."

"Abs, we know you have to go to Wisconsin for the trial, but why so early?"

"It isn't just for the trial anymore. I have to go to a foster home. I didn't want to tell you tonight because I wanted it to be a special night." Lucas just stared at her. He wanted to be mad, but he couldn't. He just wanted to spend as much time as he could with her.

"Well, we will just have to find a way for someone here to adopt you." Abby hoped they could find someone. She really wanted to stay in Tree Hill.


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

"Okay, Brooke should be here any minute now. So everyone take their places." Karen yelled as she turned off the lights. Brooke walked in about a minute later.

"Karen? Deb? Is anyone here? I brought the cups you needed." All of a sudden the lights flew on and everyone yelled surprise. Brooke couldn't believe it. No one had ever thrown her a surprise party. She loved Tree Hill and she was sad she was leaving, but at least she was going out with a bang.

"Oh my gosh! I can't believe this! Thank you so much everyone! You don't know how much this means to me." Brooke said on the verge of tears. Everyone soon sat down to eat. As they were finishing up the meal Abby stood up and cleared her throat. When that didn't get everyone's attention she started clinking her glass. She finally got everyone's attention when Brooke yelled.

"Guys, if you don't' mind Abby has something to say about me." She paused for a minute to make sure everyone was done talking. "Okay Abby, go on." Abby smiled.

"Thanks Brooke. Well, first I want to thank you all for coming. I am happy that this turned out okay. I want to thank Karen and Deb for helping me out with this. It is now story time." She smiled as she heard Brooke let out a sigh.

"When I moved here in the middle of the school year, I did not have a lot of self-confidence. That changed because of two wonderful people. Lucas and Brooke helped me so much. And because this party isn't for Lucas I will concentrate on Brooke's part." Lucas grabbed her hand as she continued.

"I met Brooke the second day of school. She was so nice to me during lunch. She knew nothing about me and yet she stuck up for me. I'm not saying no one else stood up for me, but I remember Brooke the most. Then, we had history together and I was welcomed by the Student Council President and that night she gave me the confidence to go out with Luke. She didn't get mad when she found out the truth about my past and present situation. She stood there with me as a friend and a confidante. She has always been there and is always worried. I'm glad I met you Brooke Davis. And I'm glad you gave me a chance. I will miss you so much." When Abby was done talking she noticed the tears sliding down her cheeks. She noticed that a lot of the guests were also tearing up.

"I will miss you too A.J." Abby was confused. "Oh it is a mixture of Abby and Jamie. I will always know you as two girls, so I figured I would shorten it." They both laughed and hugged each other. The party continued all through the night. The adults left, but not until they made sure no one would drink. After the party finally died around three that morning, they all headed to the River court for one last game with everyone there. Brooke was leaving for California, Abby was leaving for Wisconsin, and Nathan was going to the High Flyers basketball camp. Life in Tree Hill wouldn't be the same, it wouldn't even go back to normal.

"So Brooke, are you coming back here for senior year?"

"I don't know Haley. I want to, but I don't think my parents were too excited with me staying here for the end of this year." Haley, Peyton, Anna, Mouth, Felix, Brooke, and Abby were sitting on the picnic table talking while the rest of the gang played a quick pick up game.

"Yea babe, you better come back or I'm going to have to emancipate myself and move to California." Brooke smiled at Felix. She was surprised that he had turned into a decent guy. She was sad that this was their last night together, but she wouldn't have it any other way.

"I will make sure I'm back here for senior year if A.J. is."

"Sorry Felix, I guess you will have to move out to California because I don't know how I will be able to stay in Tree Hill."

"Ye of little faith"

"I wish it was true Pey, but um…I'm leaving for Wisconsin in like a day and a half."

"But you will be back until they find you a foster home. Won't you?" Peyton and the rest of the gang didn't like the look on Abby or Haley's face.

"Abby…Haley…what's up?" Anna couldn't take the silence. When Anna spoke up all the guys on the court started walking over.

"Um…" Abby began. "Well, technically I don't belong to the state of North Carolina. John didn't adopt me, so I have belonged to the state of Wisconsin for the past three years. So I have to go to a Wisconsin orphanage, which will try and find me a home."

"Why didn't you tell us?" Mouth asked.

"Yea, we could have thrown a party for you and Brooke." Skills added.

"I planned the party a couple weeks ago and I didn't know at that point. I just had Karen helping me out. I'm sorry everyone, but I don't want a party because I don't want to celebrate me leaving. It was hard enough the first time." Lucas walked over and gave her a hug. He remembered that day like it was yesterday.

"But at least I won't be mad at you this time." The kids that knew Lucas and Abby when they were little laughed.  
"What are you kids doing here?" A voice yelled from behind them.

"Um, well Officer Carter, it is my last night and we were just hanging out while the guys played a game." Brooke said.

"As long as there is nothing illegal going on around here." They all shook their heads. "Okay, well I'm off then."

"Wait, Officer Carter…could you take a picture or two of the group?"

"Sure, if you guys make it quick." They all got together on the picnic table and he snapped a couple pictures.

"I will send everyone a copy of the picture." After a couple minutes of conversation the guys finished their game and then everyone headed home to get a couple hours of sleep. Even though she was leaving in less than five hours, Brooke was calm. She even managed to say her good-byes with minimal tear shed. If you had asked her a year ago if she would have been sad to leave Tree Hill for Los Angeles she would have said no. She had become incredibly close to so many people who changed her life and showed her that it doesn't matter how much money someone has or what they look like on the outside. They gave her a confidence in helping others. She would never forget what these people had done for her. After she finished her good-byes Felix dropped her off at Lucas' house. She knew she was going to miss this house. It wasn't as big as her old house, but she knew she was never going to find another one with as much love and comfort as was found here. She crawled into her bed and soon drifted off to a sleep filled with happy memories of the past year. Back at the court Lucas, Abby, Nathan, Haley, Peyton, and Jake were standing around talking. No one wanted the night to end, but they knew they had to say good-bye sometime. Peyton and Jake were the first to leave because Jenny would need to be watched. Nathan and Haley finally decided that they were going to leave.

"Abby, we'll just leave the door open for you." Abby looked at Lucas who was busy talking with Nathan.

"Um, no that's okay. Luke and I are going to go back to his house. I'll just sleep there. That way I can get a ride to the café with Karen. Tomorrow is my last day."

"Okay, if you are sure." Abby shook her head.

"We'll see you guys tomorrow. Does lunch at the café sound good?" Nathan and Haley agreed to Lucas' invite and the two couples parted. When Lucas and Abby got to Lucas' house they noticed Felix's car was still outside, but it wasn't empty.

"Well, at least I know they aren't doing it on my bed."

"Lucas Scott! That is wrong to even think about." Abby said with a chuckle.

"Yea, especially…never mind." Abby didn't know what he was talking about, but she wasn't too concerned. She was more worried about Felix and Brooke catching them watching.   
"Lucas, let's go inside before they see us watching them." She finally pushed Lucas in the house and then sat on the couch. Lucas grabbed a couple bottles of water from the fridge and then joined Abby on the couch.

"So, you are really leaving Tree Hill again?" Abby shook her head as she took a sip of her water. "Oh, okay" Lucas said sounding disappointed.

"It's not like I have a choice Lucas. Trust me, if there was, I would definitely choose here." Abby yawned and laid her head on Lucas' shoulder. He looked down after a couple minutes and saw that Abby had fallen asleep. He laid back on the couch and soon fell asleep.


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

Three hours later Lucas woke up to his mom standing over him. He woke Abby up and then headed for the bathroom.

"Karen, thanks again for helping with the party last night. It meant a lot to Brooke. And, don't worry, nothing…"

"I know Abby, but we have to get to the café soon." The rest of the day was spent at the café. Brooke came by to say good-bye one last time and then Nathan and Haley came for lunch. No one mentioned anything about Abby leaving in fear of Lucas getting more upset. The day flew by and soon it was closing time. The kids all went over to Haley and Nathan's to help Abby pack the few things that she actually had. They spent the entire night reminiscing and just talking. After they all made sure that Abby had their numbers and addresses they promised they would stop by to see her off. They all left, which made Abby start feeling sad and alone. She cried herself to sleep on Lucas' shoulder. She woke up the next morning at 8:00 when she heard a knock on the door. She noticed that Lucas was still sound asleep which probably meant that neither Haley nor Nathan had heard the knock. She got up and slipped on Lucas' sweatshirt as she headed for the door. When she opened it, she saw Dan Scott. It took all she had not to slam the door in his face.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Abby was surprised he asked that. "Well, aren't you going to answer my question?"

"I have been staying here for the past month. You would know that if you weren't such an ass." She couldn't believe she had actually said it. "I should be asking **you** what the hell you are doing here."

"I'm here to talk with my son." Dan was taken aback by the young lady who he had run into a month earlier. There was no way this was the same girl.

"I'll go get Lucas."

"I'm not here to talk to him."

"Oh, I should have known that you weren't here for Lucas. You have never been there for him. Why would you start now?" Dan looked like he was going to smack her. "You touch me and I'll have you thrown in jail."

"Let me talk to Nathan." Abby shook her head. "Why not?"

"He's sleeping. What do you need?" He handed her the papers.

"He needs to sign these. They are for, um, the apartment." Abby opened the papers and began reading. She thought she heard Dan object to her reading, but she didn't care. As she was reading she noticed there was a carbon sheet between the pages. When she looked at the second sheet she noticed the word 'annulment'.  
"You are an asshole Dan! These are annulment papers!" As she said this Nathan and Haley were walking out to the living room. "Most parents are proud when their children get married. Deb doesn't care anymore. Why should you?"

"You wouldn't know the first thing about a parent being proud of their child. I remember hearing that your father…"

"Don't even think about finishing that sentence Dad!" Nathan yelled.

"You know what Dan? My father may have killed himself, but I have **NEVER** hated him the way Nathan **and** Lucas hate you." She slammed the door and leaned against it with tears in her eyes.

"Hey Abs, I'm sorry he said that." Lucas said as he walked over to the door.

"You heard that?"

"I heard the entire conversation. You are a sassy girl. This is what was missing with Jamie." Abby smiled. It did feel good to talk back to some people.

"Well, I'm sorry that you heard that. He had no right to say that, but you know Dan. Always, has to put his two cents in." They all sat in silence.

"Wm, well Nathan and I have to go to the doctors soon. What are you two going to do?" Lucas and Abby shrugged.

"I don't know. I was thinking of just walking around Tree Hill one last time." Lucas nodded and grabbed his sweatpants. He started going for his sweatshirt but stopped when he noticed Abby was wearing it.

"I'm glad you like all my sweatshirts Abs."

"Oops, I forgot I grabbed it when I woke up." She started taking it off.

"No, it looks good on you. Keep it for the day." Abby and Lucas left the apartment and headed for their favorite place, the River court. It was where they had run into each other that first day and it was where Abby had decided to see what was going to happen between them.

"Luke, we need to talk."

"Uh-oh" Abby looked confused. "Whenever someone says they 'need to talk', it is usually **NEVER** good."

"Oh, well I guess this all depends. Lucas, I love you **A LOT** and I don't want to leave Tree Hill, but I have no choice. I need to know where **WE** stand now."

"I don't understand."

"Okay, I am leaving and I won't be here Luke. I won't be able to leave the foster home until I'm 18, which means there is a good chance…" Lucas stopped her.

"Which means I will wait until you are 18 if that is what it will take to be with you again. I promise that I will visit you whenever I can. I know what you were thinking and I don't want to break up with you. You mean too much to me to lose you again. I love you Abigail Winters and I will not loose you **EVER** again." Abby had never felt so loved than she did at that moment. She couldn't believe how lucky she was to have friends like the ones she had. She walked over to where Lucas was sitting and sat down in front of him. She was interrupted from her thoughts when she felt Lucas lean in and kiss her. It was different from the other times they had kissed. This one was full of love and passion. It reminded her of the movie _Princess Diaries_ when Mia's foot would 'pop'. When they finally broke apart Abby was in complete shock and she could do was smile. They spent the rest of the morning walking around Tree Hill. Nothing was said between the two as they headed to the café. When they got there Lucas held the door open and followed her in. To their surprise no one was in the café.

"Hey Mom, where is everyone?"

"Hi, it has been a slow morning."

"Let's go to the roof. If you need us…" They walked up to the roof and opened the door. As Abby walked through she heard a loud 'surprise'. She looked around and saw everyone standing on the roof. She turned around and saw Karen and Lucas holding a big cake.

"I can't believe this!" Lucas walked up to her.

"Sorry…I know you didn't want one, but everyone wanted to throw you a party."

"You are right, but I guess I will just have to deal with it." She walked over to every person and gave them hugs. She didn't know how she was going to live without all these wonderful people. When she finally reached Nathan and Haley she noticed the looks on their faces and knew they were the reason.

"It was your idea…"She gave them each a hug. "Thank you." She spent all afternoon eating and talking. It was finally 3:30 and time for Abby to head over to Nathan and Haley's. When they got there, Mr. Leamon was already waiting.

"Miss Winters, how are you?" She shrugged and kept walking. Lucas followed her in while Nathan and Haley stopped to talk to Mr. Leamon.

"Sorry about that. This is just really hard for her. She really doesn't want to leave Tree Hill again."  
"I know Mr. Scott, but she has too. It is out of my hands. If she had family here it would be different, but she doesn't." Nathan shook his head.

"I'll go get Abby." He walked inside to find Lucas and Abby in the corner of the living room holding each other. He noticed the tears were streaming down Abby's cheeks. He walked back outside to tell Mr. Leamon that he would have to wait a little while longer.

**Back Inside**

"Abs, I know you don't want to hear this, but I think you have to go." Abby looked up at Lucas.

"Why?"

"Um, because Nathan just walked in and then quickly walked back out a couple minutes ago." Lucas knew that he had told her she had to go, but he couldn't let go. It wasn't that he was incapable of physically letting her go, but he didn't want to let her go emotionally. He hadn't realized how much he really needed her until now.

"Can I come with you Abby?" Abby smiled.

"I would love for you all to come with me, but I don't think you can." They were interrupted.

"Ahem, I'm very sorry Miss Winters, but we really must be going. Your train leaves in a couple hours." Abby nodded.

"By Lucas. I love you **so** much. I'll call you when I get to Wisconsin." She walked over to Nathan and Haley. She gave Haley a big hug. "Be careful with the baby. I want to come back here for the birth, so give me a call when it starts."

"Don't' worry, besides Lucas and Deb you will definitely be there." She then walked over to Nathan.

"Keep your eye on him Nate."

"Don't worry Shorty. I'll make sure Lucas doesn't sulk too much." Abby smiled.

"Thank you for everything Nathan. You don't know how much I appreciate everything. I will talk to you later." She walked over to where Lucas was holding the door open for her.

"By Abs, I'll miss you so much."

"I'll miss you too. Tell your mom, Deb, and Keith I'll miss them too." They kiss and then Abby gets in the passenger side of the car.

"I love you Abby."

"I love you too Lucas." Lucas watched as the car drove out of site. When he finally couldn't see the car anymore he walked back up to Nathan and Haley's apartment.

"Wow, I can't believe she's gone **again**."

"Hey Luke, how about a little supper?" Lucas smiled.

"Thanks Hales, I'll call my mom." After he got home from Nathan and Haley's, Lucas walked into his room and collapsed on his bed. He had held his emotions in all night and they finally came pouring out. He couldn't believe both Brooke and Abby were gone. This was going to be a hard summer. He finally fell asleep after about three restless hours.


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

It had been a hard car ride to the station, but at least Mr. Leamon helped her take her mind off leaving. She figured the train ride would be even harder because there would be no one to distract her. Her thoughts kept wandering back to Lucas, Nathan, and Haley. She had watched Lucas until she couldn't see him. Once on the train, Abby couldn't hold her emotions in any longer. She hadn't cried all day and the tears wouldn't stop. She felt alone. She finally fell asleep, but a restless five hours was not enough. She knew that she needed to hear Lucas' voice. As she dialed his number she realized it was 1:00 in the morning, but she really wanted to talk to him and hear his voice.

"Hello…"

"I'm sorry Luke. Were you sleeping?"

"Abby?"

"Yea, I'm so sor…"

"Don't worry, I'm awake now." He sounded much more awake. "How's Wisconsin?"

"I'm not actually there yet. I just needed to talk to you. I miss you so much already."

"This is going to be a difficult two years isn't it?"  
"Yea, probably" They continued talking for three hours. Abby finally fell asleep while on the phone. She was woken up a couple hours later by the conductor yelling the arrival in Wisconsin within the next five minutes. Abby got all her stuff together and was off the trains as quick as she could. When she stepped off she noticed a young lady holding a sign with her name on it. She walked over.

"Welcome to Wisconsin Miss Winters. My name is Cheryl Korey. I work for the state."

"Hello"

"So how was the train ride?" Abby just shrugged and hopped into the car. They arrived at the children's home and walked inside. Abby had never been to a children's home, but she quickly found that it wasn't anything special. They walked up two flights of stairs and then headed into a room at the very end of the hall. She had noticed that all the rooms they had passed were occupied by teen-age girls, but she was probably the oldest.

"This is your room. You will be sharing with Darcy. That is your bed, dresser, and desk. We eat breakfast at 8:30, lunch at 1:00, and dinner at 6:30. You are required to eat lunch and dinner, unless you are out of the house for a good reason. You will be given a weekly allowance of $10 for the chores that you will be doing throughout the day. Curfew is 10:00 for teenagers with lights out at 11. If you want to leave, you must get it okayed by myself or other workers." She paused to make sure Abby was listening.

"Keep going, I'm listening." Abby said as she stared out the window.

"There are no boys on this floor and they cannot be in a girl's room past 10:00 and the same goes for you being in a boy's room. Do you have any questions?"

"Um, no I don't have any questions."

"All right, well the bathroom is down the hall. I will let you get settled in. If you need anything my room is right next to the bathroom. If I'm not in there I will be downstairs in the office." After Cheryl left, Abby shut the door and fell to the ground. She couldn't believe where she was. After about 10 minutes there was a knock on the door. Abby quickly dried her eyes and opened the door.

"Darcy are you...? You aren't Darcy." A young boy asked as soon as the door opened.

"No, I'm not Darcy. She isn't here." He shook his head.

"Well, my name is…"

"JUSTIN!" Abby had never heard anyone squeal like that.

"What are you doing here?"

"I was coming up to talk to Cheryl when I thought I heard you crying in your room, but it obviously wasn't you." Darcy finally noticed Abby standing in the doorway.

"You must be the new girl."

'Well duh' Abby thought to herself.

"Let me introduce you to some people. We will start with the important ones. My name is Darcy. This is Mary and Katie and I see you have already met my boyfriend, Justin."

"It is nice to meet you all, my name is Abby…"

"Whatever" Darcy said interrupting. "I don't care who you are. This is my domain. I rule this place and you better not get in my way Chubby." Abby couldn't believe it was starting already. She hadn't even been there an hour and people hated her.

"Oh, and stay away from my boyfriend." She pushed past Abby and sat on her bed. "Do you mind? My friends and I are trying to have a conversation." Abby was so tempted to say something back, but decided that she would just call some people. She grabbed her bag and walked outside. She found a quiet spot and dialed Brooke's number.

"_Hey this is Brooke Davis. I'm not by my phone so leave me one."_ Abby missed Brooke so much.

"Hey B…it's me, A.J. Well, I'm in Wisconsin now. I miss you, Lucas, and Tree Hill so much. I just got here and people already don't like me. It feels like that first day or so with Tim, but this time there is no you, Haley, Luke, or Nathan to help me out. Well, give me a call when you get this. I'll talk to you later. Love ya much. Bye B" She hung up. She tried to call everyone, but she had to leave a message for every single person. This was going to be a hard week and a half. She was actually excited for the trail because she knew that Karen and Lucas were coming.

"Excuse me, what are you doing?"  
"I was…I don't have to explain what I was doing to you. Why don't you leave me alone?" Darcy was surprised. She hadn't realized Abby could be just as bad as she was. "Look, I know you don't like me for some strange reason, but I didn't and wouldn't hit on your boyfriend. I will stay out of your way if you stay out of mine." With that she got up and walked back into the house leaving Darcy and her posse outside in shock. For the next week and a half Abby kept to herself and only talked when someone asked her a question or when someone from Tree Hill would call. Darcy hadn't said anything about her, but Abby knew she was pissed at what had happened that first day. It was finally time for Lucas and Karen to come and Abby was over excited. No one had ever seen her smile except when she talked to this guy or someone else from Tree Hill.


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

Darcy had felt bad about the way she had treated Abby for the past week. At first she was mad at her for speaking her mind, but after she thought about it she realized that Abby was right. When Abby was getting ready for Lucas and Karen to come Darcy decided she needed to talk to her.

"Hey Abby" Abby turned around and smiled. Darcy couldn't believe how nice Abby was to her, even after everything that had happened between them. "Um, can I ask you a few questions?"

"If you really want to, go ahead." Abby sat on her bed while Darcy plopped down on hers.

"Okay, so I usually hear why people are here, but they have been very secretive about you. Why?" Abby shook her head.

"I don't know why they are keeping it quiet, but I don't have any parents."

"Do you mind me asking why?"

"My mom died when I was 10 from a heart failure. My dad moved us to Wisconsin and then he killed himself a year later. Some friends of my dad's took me in. The woman was killed two years later in a hit and run drunk driving accident. So the man moved me back to North Carolina, which is where I grew up. He hit me constantly. The last time I almost died and so he is now in jail."

"Wow, I thought I had a hard life. My parents were both killed in a fire and I was sent straight here."

"How long ago was that?"

"Um, about seven years ago, I was 8."  
"Wow…" Abby cell phone rang. She picked it up.

"Hello" Darcy heard a pause in the conversation. "Are you here?" There was another pause. "Oh my GOD! I'll be right down!" Abby hung up and started towards the door. "Do you want to come and meet my boyfriend and his mom?" Darcy smiled and walked over to Abby. She grabbed Darcy's hand and pulled her down the stairs. As soon as she saw Lucas she ran over to him and threw her arms around him.

"I missed you so much!"

"I missed you too Abs. Oh, please don't cry…"

"I'm sorry Lucas, but I'm so happy to see you…" She trailed off when she saw Karen, Nate, Haley, Deb, Peyton, and Anna standing behind him. She walked to each person and gave them hugs. After she hugged everyone she walked back over to Darcy.

"This is my roommate Darcy. Darcy, this is my boyfriend Lucas, his mom Karen, his brother Nathan, Nathan's wife Haley, Nathan's mom Deb, and two of my other friends, Anna and Peyton. I'll explain some things later."

"Well, it was nice to meet you all. I will be looking forward to hearing all about you." She walked away leaving Abby to catch up with everyone.

"Okay, I thought you didn't get along with your roommate?"

"I know Pey, but today she's been really nice. I figured I should give her a chance." She paused. "I can't believe you are all here. I'm so happy. Where are you staying?"

"We are across town at the Super 8. How are you Abby?" Deb answered.

"I'm good. They treat us well here."  
"How many people are here?" Haley asked looking around nervously.

"There are ten workers over the course of the day. There are 5 babies, 3 kids under five a few under twelve and then there are eight teen-agers, five girls and 3 boys. So there are about twenty all the time and then this past week we had a couple more babies, but they were adopted quickly." Karen had been pretty quiet the entire time.

"You need to get out of here. I thought I was okay with this, but now that I see it, I need to know you are incredibly safe."

"Karen, I'm fine. Trust me. I get three square meals a day, there is always an adult here, and no one is hitting me. I promise you that this is a good place."

"We are trying to find a way to get you back where you belong." Deb really liked this young girl, but there was something about her.

**Flashback**

"Hey mom" Deb said as she walked into her parent's house.

"Deb, honey, this is a nice surprise. We weren't expecting you."

"I know, I thought I would surprise you."

"Well, I am surprised, but your father is not here." They sit down.

"Mom, I actually have a question for you. I know this is hard for you, but why did you decide to keep me and give away…"

"I know I have avoided this question so many times and I am sorry."

"Mom, I'm not upset, but please answer my question."

"Because your father and I were a year older and we could afford a baby. Your sister went to a great home and I believe leads a great life. We haven't heard anything, but that was expected at the time of adoption."

"Do you remember who adopted her?"

"Um, let me go check. I wrote it down somewhere. Here it is, Randall and Gloria Suzda. Why are you wondering?"

"I don't know, I want to try and find her."

**End Flashback**

Deb had forgotten to look on the computer, but promised to look when she got home.

"Well, I hope you find a way for me to come back to Tree Hill. I really miss it there." Karen was still looking around the living room when she saw Lucas staring at Abby.

"Well, we should go check into the hotel. Let's give Lucas and Abby some time alone."

"Thanks for coming. I will definitely see you soon." She hugged everyone again and then ran over to Lucas and jumped on his back. They walked out the door and headed for the swings. They didn't even notice how long they were outside until it started raining.

"Crap, come on, we'll find a quiet spot inside." As they started in they noticed Cheryl coming down the stairs.

"Abby, it's 6:30, time for supper."

"Already, are you serious? You just got here, you can't leave."

"Hey Abs, don't worry, I'll see you later."

"Why don't you guys take dinner in the living room? You can't watch TV, but you can have a little privacy while you eat."

"Thanks Cheryl, you're the best." Abby grabbed Lucas' hand and ran into the kitchen. They spent the rest of the night playing cards and watching the rain with the other kids. Lucas left around 10:00 so that Abby could get try and sleep before the big day that his mom had planned for them. Darcy and Abby were woken up at 7:30 by Abby's cell phone ringing. Abby jumped out of bed and ran over to the desk.

"I'm sorry Darcy. I thought I turned it off last night." When she picked up the phone she noticed it was her alarm going off.

"Your boyfriend asked me to turn it on for you and set the alarm actually. You had turned it off." She walked to Abby. "He will be here at 8:15 to pick you up. Cheryl already okayed it. So go have fun." Abby ran to the bathroom to get ready. When Lucas picked her up, her took her to a small restaurant by the Super 8 where everyone else was waiting. They spent the entire day at the beach. They knew they had to relax for the next day. Lucas and Abby were both nervous about testifying, but they knew they had to if they wanted John behind bars.


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

**Trial #1**

"All rise, the honorable Judge Willis presiding." Abby couldn't believe she was in an actual courtroom. She had seen them on TV shows, but she never thought she would actually be in one. "The cases of John Sanchez, the charges are a hit and run and 2nd degree homicide."

"How do you plea?" The judge asked John. This was the first time Abby had seen John since that awful night two months earlier.

"Not guilty" John's attorney said. Abby sat in astonishment as the prosecutor tore apart every little thing John's defense was built on. It was going so well that they didn't even need Abby to talk about that night. The day concluded with the jury declaring a verdict.

"We, the jury, find John Sanchez guilty of hit and run and 2nd degree homicide."

"We will set your sentencing date tomorrow after the second trial."

"Your honor, what about a bail?" The judge thought about it for a minute.

"Denied, no bail will be set." Abby and Lucas both sat there in amazement.

"Lucas, I'm scared. What if I can't tell them everything and then he walks?"

"Well, he won't walk because he is already going to jail for today's trial and besides they have a tape plus me. It will be fine, trust me."

**Trial #2**

"All rise, the honorable Judge Willis presiding. The case of John Sanchez, child abuse, child endangerment, kidnapping, and attempted murder."

"Well, this should be interesting. How do you plea?"

"Not guilty your honor" Lucas leaned closer to Abby.

"Yea right" He whispered into Abby's ear. Abby just sat there staring at John, she couldn't stop looking at the man she had lived with for five years. She hadn't slept much that night because she was so nervous. The trial proceeded and they finally called Lucas' name. He went over the entire first night and then concluded with that last night. The last thing they showed was the video that Lucas and Abby had forgotten to turn off. Abby started feeling nauseous, but she was going to be called to the stand next and she wanted to show John that she was strong.

"Thank you Mr. Scott." Even though the defense pointed out that Lucas was in the closet, the prosecutor thought he did well. "I would like to call Miss Abigail Winters to the stand." When Abby sat down she noticed for the first time in five years that John was scared.

"Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth so help you God?"

"I do"

"Do you know that man right there?" The prosecutor asked pointing at John.

"Yes I do."

"How do you know him?"

"I have lived with him for the past five years."

"When did you meet him?"

"I met him six years ago when my dad and I moved to Wisconsin."

"And then you moved in with Mr. Sanchez and his wife after your father died."

"Yes, that is correct."

"When did Mr. Sanchez start hitting you?"

"It was after Dana, his wife, died. He started drinking and then he would get mad at me for nothing."

"Did he hit you every night?"

"Not every single night, but almost every night." The trial continued with the defense asking questions.

"Have you ever disobeyed Mr. Sanchez?"

"Objection your honor, my witness is not on trial here!"

"Overruled, but you better have a point." The attorney looked at Abby. "Well, did you?"

"I'm a teen-ager, sir. He was the one that…"

"Yes or no Miss Winters" the attorney said staring directly at Abby.

"Yes, I disobeyed him once or twice."

"About Mr. Scott, am I right?"

"Yes" Abby said starting to get frustrated.

"As I see it, my client was just giving the girl a spanking for disobeying him."

"Excuse me, your honor, can I say something?"

"Sure, I don't see why not." Abby stood up.

"You say that he was 'spanking' me because I 'disobeyed' him in regards to Lucas Scott, well let me ask you a question. Did you end up in the hospital after you got spanked? Did you almost die after a spanking?" The defense attorney just looked at Abby. "You think I deserved getting hit almost every night? You think that…"

"SHUT UP you little SLUT!"

"Mr. Sanchez, order in this court. I will have order in this court!"

"I'm almost done." The judge nodded. "You think that anyone deserves that? And he is sober now." She walked out of the courtroom. As soon as she reached the wall she sank down and started crying. She felt a hand on her shoulder and saw Lucas sitting next to her.

"You did good baby. I'm so proud of you." She smiled and then buried her head in Lucas' shoulder. A couple hours later the court went back into session.

"Has the jury reached a verdict?"

"Yes we have."

"What do you find the defendant?"

"We, the jury, find Mr. Sanchez guilty on all charges." Abby felt a smile creep on her face.

"The sentencing date is one month from today at 8:00 in the morning." As soon as they got out of the courtroom, everyone gave Lucas and Abby hugs. They couldn't believe that Abby had spoken up like that.

"So you really have to go tomorrow?"

"Yea, Haley needs to rest, Nathan needs to get ready for High Fliers, Peyton and Anna have to get back to TRIC, and I need to go back and get some things situated with Dan." Deb answered.

"If you must, but I have a couple more hours before I have to be back. How does supper sound?" They all nodded and headed to the hotel to order pizza. The rest of the weekend with Karen and Lucas was full of memories and good times. She wished there was a way to get back to Tree Hill, but nothing was looking good.


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21**

It had been 2 months since the trial and John had been sentenced to 45 to 50 years in prison with no chance of parole. Abby was still living at the children's home, but things were much better for her. She still wasn't best friends with Darcy, but they were beginning to talk more and more. She was excited because she had saved all her allowance for those two months to buy a train ticket to go back to Tree Hill for a week. Cheryl had agreed and Abby had hopped on the first train she could find for Tree Hill.

**Tree Hill**

"Deb are you serious? How can that be? You are related to Abby?" Karen couldn't believe what she was hearing. Deb had just told her that she was going to Wisconsin to adopt her niece. Both Deb and Karen knew that Abby was coming to Tree Hill for a visit, but she had asked for them to keep it a surprise to the others. Little did Abby know that Deb was flying to Wisconsin to bring her back to Tree Hill.

"Well, I wanted to find my sister and so I asked my mom who had adopted her. She told me who it had been and I found out that she was adopted by some people from Tree Hill. Her name was Kelly Suzda, but she got married and…"

"Her name changed to Winters." Karen said in shock. She couldn't believe it. It couldn't be true.

"It is true Karen. I went and looked at the records and found it was true. I couldn't believe what I was reading." Karen was ecstatic. She knew that Deb would be a great mom to Abby. She was also happy that Abby and Brooke would be back for their senior year of high school. That afternoon Deb hopped a flight to Wisconsin.

**The next day at the Café**

"Lucas, Nathan, can you two help me move those boxes of napkins into the backroom?" Karen asked the two boys. She figured they weren't doing anything, but lying around the café. Plus she needed to get all the kids into the back because Abby was coming in and wanted to surprise them all.

"Yeah, sure mom, we can help." Lucas said as he pulled Nathan to his feet.

"Okay good, Haley is back there resting so don't be too loud."

"We won't Karen, I don't want her to have a mood swing again today. She is already crabby enough without a little extra pressure from me." Karen just smiled as the boys walked to the back. The café was a little dead, but it was 2:00 in the afternoon and that tended to happen frequently. She walked to the door and motioned for Abby to come in. She gave the girl a big hug and ushered her to the nearest booth. She gave her a menu and they waited for the boys to come back out. Once they did, Karen knew they were in for a big surprise.

"Lucas, can you go get that person's order? I am a little busy with these dishes." Lucas nodded and walked over to the booth.

"Hey, welcome to Karen's café. What can I get you?" Lucas said without even looking up. Abby chuckled before she spoke.

"How about a little kiss for your girl?" As soon as she spoke she saw Lucas' eyes shoot up.

"Abby! Holy crap! What are you doing here? When? Why?" Lucas couldn't believe his eyes. He picked her up and wrapped her in his arms. He never wanted to let go. Nathan, hearing all the excitement, walked over to Lucas.

"Dude, what is wrong?" But before he could say anything else he saw Abby. "Abby, oh my god, it's actually you! What are you doing here?" Nathan asked pulling her into a hug.

"Wow, you two are starting to actually think alike now. I might have to separate you boys. And I am here because I missed you guys. I have been saving up my allowance for the past two months and here I am. I am only here for a week, so don't get too attached."

"I think we already are." All three turned around to see Haley standing at the counter. Abby ran over to Haley and gave her a hug.

"How are you feeling Hales?"

"Same as when I talked to you yesterday. I've been really tired lately."

"How far along are you now?"

"A little over 4 months, but sometimes I feel like it has been a year. This is a lot more difficult than I expected." They all smiled.

"But it will definitely be worth it when the baby comes out." Nathan said walking over and placing a hand on Haley's stomach.

"Abby, would you like something to eat?" Karen asked from behind the counter.

"I'm not hungry quite yet. They fed me on the train."

"All right, well, dinner will be at 6:30. Everyone will be here, except for Deb who had to leave for a work-related trip. What do you guys want?"

"Can you make the BBQ chicken with cheesy mash potatoes, baked beans, corn, and dinner rolls with strawberry cheese cake for dessert and some pink lemonade, that you use to make?"

"Of course I can Abby. You all just need to be here at 6:30."

"Are you sure you don't need any help Karen?"

"No Haley, you kids go have fun. Keith will be here to help me." All the kids walked out of the café and headed for the River court. They hung out for a while before they headed back to Nathan and Haley's apartment. They sat around and talked about the summers they each had had. Around 6 they headed to the café ready to eat. The meal was more than amazing. They sat around for hours after just trying to catch up on everything and anything they could think of. The rest of the week Abby watched TV with Haley, went to the River court with Nathan and Lucas. She hung out with everyone in Tree Hill, but the week came to an end rather quickly.

"I can't believe I am leaving in a day. I haven't experienced all of Tree Hill."

"Abby, you were here for a year. How could you not have experienced it all?" Nathan asked.

"Well, I mean this week. I haven't done everything that I wanted to do while I was back. I had so much fun, but still."

"Well, come on. Let's go down to the beach for the afternoon. And then we have to go to Deb's house because she has a surprise for us." Lucas said grabbing a couple towels and heading to the door. They spent the afternoon at the beach and then headed to Deb's house. She and Dan had gotten divorced and she got the house, so the entire group gathered at her house for supper.

"Welcome everyone. I'm glad you could all make it tonight. I have a big surprise for everyone, but it is going to have to wait until after supper." They all walked in the house. "Well, supper is actually ready right now, so let's go eat." Everyone agreed and then headed for the dining room.

"So, Deb, where was your business trip this past week? I know you just got back yesterday."

"Well, it was in the Midwest, but it wasn't too interesting. There were some difficulties, but I don't think I will have to go back there ever again for this business."

"That is good I guess mom, but isn't that going to be bad for business?"

"No, Nate, it won't be bad at all." They ate the rest of the supper with small talk. "All right, now it's time for the surprise, but it is upstairs in the extra bedroom." They all walked up the stairs. As Deb opened the door, Abby noticed a couple familiar things strewn about the room.

"What the hell? That is my stuff!"

"Deb?"

"Mom?" Lucas and Nate were both confused.

"Surprise everyone! Welcome home Abby."

"Are you serious? How? Why? I don't understand!"

"Um, well, I found out that you are my niece."

"What?" Everyone yelled. Abby, Lucas, Nathan, and Haley couldn't believe what they were hearing.

"What do you mean Mom?"

"Her mom was my older sister. Our parents couldn't afford a baby at that time, so they put her up for adoption. I wanted to know who my sister was and I found out that Abby was her daughter. So because of this new information, I was able to adopt Abby because I am family. So, welcome home Abby" Abby couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"Wow that is awesome! Brooke is coming back, I'll be here. Senior year is going to be so much better than I thought it would be!" Abby was so happy. She couldn't believe she had a family and someone who loved her as much as she loved him. Her life was never going to be the same, but she had no problems with it.

"Abby, I have one more question for you."

"Okay"

"The courts want to know if you want to change your name. You don't have to, but if you want to I would be delighted."

"Well, it doesn't matter to me, but what's in a name? I am happy with who I am, but I would love to change my name and become your daughter."


End file.
